The Missing Hokage
by 3screws
Summary: My first Fic and a response to Perfect Lionheart's Missing Hokage challenge. Naruto is banished from Konoha and Tsunade wont stand for it. NaruHina, more exciting pairings later.
1. Chapter 1

"Shizune." the Hokage bellowed through the tower. "Where are you?"

The jounin rounded a corner calmly " here Tsunade-sensei. What do you need?"

"Bring me Naruto. And Jiraya. And the key to the Hokage library. And the blackbook. And Sarutobi's notes." The Sannin paused between each demand. Her mind was racing. Each item made her think of another that she needed. "And the cheap sake. And the good sake. Bring the sake first, then the other stuff." With that she stormed to the Senju estate for one last thing before the most important meeting of her life.

The assembled party was quiet and serious, with the notable exception of Naruto who could not help but chatter and strut about the room.

"Naruto! This is important." Tsunade started calmly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm listening." the boy countered a he continued to try and rib his sensei and beg for jutsu simultaneously.

"NARUTO! This is the real deal I need you to be calm and listen for five minutes!" The Hokage had forgone her usual bellow and instead snapped the demand at the hyperactive shinobi.

Seeing the seriousness in her eyes and tone Naruto calmed "OK. No need to go all grandmotherly on me." His infectious smile lit across his face.

With out delay the woman began her confession. "Naruto did you know I had a son? I never talk about it because when he died it was too much for me to handle. He was a good boy and grew to a good man, and a great shinobi. He was honorable and caring and loved this village with all his heart. Because he loved the village and because he was honorable he made a sacrifice so that the village would not be destroyed. He gave his life to defeat the Kyuubi. He sealed it into a newborn child, but because he couldn't ask anyone else to give up his or her child he gave up his own. You Naruto. The Yondaime Hokage was my son and your father. I do need to be grandmotherly, because I am your grandmother." the Sannin paused to gage the boys reaction. He was uncommonly still and quiet. "I know this is a lot to handle. Are you alright Naruto?"

The boy had held a pensive look for most of Tsunade's speech, but now a grin started to creep onto his lips. "So what you're saying is I'm related to two Hokage?" the grin was now a full on smile.

Tsunade released a held breath in relief, and beamed at the boy. He had taken it much better than she thought.

"Actually Naruto" Shizune piped in. "you are related to all five Hokage. The first was Tsunade's grandfather and the second her great uncle. The Sarutobi are a branch of the Senju from the second Hokage's oldest child."

"Yatta!" the boy screamed at this revelation. "I'm gonna rub Sasuke-teme's nose in this so baaaad!"

"OK Naruto that brings us to our next thing. The mission to retrieve Sasuke is a problem. You did a good job in stopping him and bringing him back, but the council doesn't see it that way." She again gaged the response before going on. This one was far less favorable.

"What? How do they see it? I said I would bring him back and I did, believe it! What more do they want?" The boy was confused and exasperated.

"The report from Kakashi is that you were seen in a shroud of the Kyuubi's chakra attacking Sasuke with an a-ranked jutsu. You wounded a fellow leaf ninja who had that very day been kidnapped and you were seen without any of your assigned team." The matter of fact delivery of the news did little to hide the contempt in Tsunade's voice. "On paper it looks like you abandoned your team and your mission and tried to kill a recently escaped fellow shinobi. This not only went out to the council. It went out to the public. The outcry from the villagers has given an opening for the council to order your execution. I bargained it down to exile, but the result is that you have forty-eight hours to leave Konoha forever."

"What? This is ridiculous. I was nearly killed and they are going to kick me out of the village for it?" for someone so high strung the stages of loss came quickly. "What about the team that was with me. They can tell them I didn't abandon anyone. We can get reports or release info like the council did or something right?"

"I'm afraid not Naruto. The council has sealed those statements and is taking Kakashi's word as a seasoned jounin over the reports of lower ranked and inexperienced ninja." Tsunade tried not to upset him further but she could see his heart breaking.

"No! I will be Hokage. I cant get kicked out of the village this is not fair...this is not..." his outburst was halted by the boys tears. In one instant he was holding fist down to his sides looking at the floor trying to hide his grief, and next he was across the room a wreck in Tsunade's arms. "Obaa-chan, what am I going to do?" he wept into her shoulder.

Tsunade's initial surprise was quickly replaced as her instinct kicked in. The thought that this was the first hug she had ever received from her grandson flitted through her mind and then was gone as the need to comfort and protect him took over. "I'm so sorry Naruto. You know I will never be anything less than proud of you. And don't worry. Granny has a plan." She smiled at the boy as he sniffed and lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"Really?" The insuppressible boy brightened. "OK lets hear it granny!"

The older blond set the younger on his feet and walked to a nearby table. The table was covered in scrolls, files and papers of all description. The floor under the table was consumed with scroll racks. The documents seemed to be sorted into jutsu scrolls on one end, personnel files in the middle and mission documents reports on the far end. Occupying a seemingly auspicious place on one corner of the table a thrice-sealed book drew the eye of the young shinobi.

"What's this?" asked Naruto picking it up with no fear or even caution for that matter.

"Careful kid!" Jiraya exclaimed. "Those seals are set to blast you all the way to earth country if you are not the right person trying to open them!"

"Oh" as Naruto tried to set the book back he fumbled and tried to catch it. He grabbed the cover and the book flopped open on the table in front of him. He quickly leaped over a nearby couch and covered his head. "Am I alive? Is everyone OK?" He peaked his head over the couch, looked left, looked right. "Well this doesn't look like earth country. Why did you have to scare me like that ero-sennin?"

The shocked women just stared but the white-haired Sannin looked on quizzically. "I wonder why it didn't blow?" he pondered aloud. After a few seconds the answer came to him. "The seals are set to the DNA of the Hokage's past and present. If one is released the others follow with a little chakra. But the kid is filled to the brim with Hokage DNA so it just released all of them even without chakra or code words."

"Great." the current Hokage scoffed. "The secrets of the village are totally free to a thirteen year old with a.d.d."

"Hey! I can pay attention to stuff." Naruto professed as his eyes wandered to a dust speck floating by.

"Well anyway." Shizune began seeing the lull as an opportunity to get down to business. "These are all the documents we will be taking with us. The jutsu scrolls will help further your education, and the mission reports can be used as leverage against the village. The personnel reports serve much the same purpose but in a more focused capacity."

"So kid I'll get all this sealed up and you go pack anything you can't stand to leave behind." Jiraya instructed the now confused looking boy.

"I'm leaving and I'm going to steal secret documents and jutsu on my way out? This is your master plan old lady?" Naruto looked worried.

"Listen here punk! You should show the Hokage and your grandmother more respect. And it's more like we." Tsunade scolded.

"What do you mean we?" the worry on Naruto's face had turned to confusion.

"We are leaving the village and taking all this with us. And a couple other things." The devious grin on the woman's face spread to the other blond as he began to formulate ideas.

"Cool" was his only response, as Tsunade handed out mission assignments and "shopping lists" with official decrees from the Hokage.

...

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent gathering supplies and making ready for the journey the three of them would be taking in two days time.

Jiraya taught Naruto how to make a storage seal and sent him home to pack. On the way Naruto turned a corner and ran into a lavender-eyed girl.

"Oh sorry Hinata. I was thinking about something and didn't see you there. Gomen." Naruto said as he grinned and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"N-no its my fault." the girl responded meekly. She was now far enough away she could keep from fainting, but the fact he was talking directly to her still made her blush and look down at her fidgeting fingers.

Naruto quickly ran through his situation and made a decision. "Hinata. You have always been so nice to me. I want you to know how much that means to me. Really thank you." The smile he gave her was filled with warmth that couldn't have been faked.

"N-Naruto? I I " she was dumbstruck. She meant something to him?

"I don't know if you heard what the council is saying about me, but I have to leave and I'm really sorry I didn't get more of a chance to talk to you and spend some time. Anyway thanks Hinata, and goodbye." he gave a slight bow and began to walk away.

The shy girl had heard but didn't believe anything the council had released. She watched a few steps that seemed like slow motion to her, as Naruto threatened to walk out of her life. She knew that it couldn't happen. She wouldn't let Naruto go without telling him how she felt.

"N-Naruto! W-wait!" she called after him. "I I I d-don't want you to go." she blurted, knowing that if she stopped to breath she would lose her nerve. "I will miss you if you go and I will be sad and you are the nicest person I know and I know the council is lying you couldn't do those terrible things and... and... And I like you" the last sentence was almost a whisper, and then the girl passed out.

...

Hinata awoke in the hospital. There was a nurse next to her bed filling a glass of water and after a cursory examination and a little re hydration Hinata was released. She walked down the hall and passed Sakura on her way to visit Sasuke.

"Can you believe Naruto." the pink-haired girl questioned. "I'm not surprised though. He's always been jealous of Sas...." her bout of gossip was cut short as Hinata darted two fingers into the space under her lower lip. With a quick twist of the body Hinata spun and brought the other hand under Sakura's chin, sending the stunned kunoichi off her feet and onto her butt with a sudden puff of air. Hinata looked at the girl, nodded at the completion of her task and walked away.

Sakura opened her mouth to yell down the disappearing form but no sound came out. Hinata hit the street outside of the hospital and didn't stop running until she was at the Hokage's door.

After being let in the very busy Hokage addressed the young Hyuuga. "What can I do for you Hinata?" the older woman asked. She was holding the semblance of normalcy as Shizune packed and Jiraya raided the houses of the former Hokage.

"I I want to turn myself in." The shy girl sat with her hands in her lap looking down.

Tsunade was confused but intrigued. "What could you possibly have done Hinata?"

"I a-assaulted a fellow ninja. I a-am willing to accept and pu-punishment you see fit. Even if it is b-banishment." the girl was afraid but resolute.

"Tell me the whole story and then I will decide if something as extreme as banishment is necessary." The patience of the Hokage was commonly known. Only in the case of a certain orange-clad gennin was she unreasonable.

"I struck Haruno Sakura twice using jyuuken. I disabled tendons and injured the function of one of her organs." The young kunoichi explained in a low voice.

"Why would you do that Hinata? How badly is she injured and which organ did you shut down?" The story was getting to interesting for the Sannin not to hear the end of.

"I removed her ability to speak by disabling her tongue. She is not permanently disabled but it will take about a month for her to heal." Hinata explained.

"You still haven't told me why." Tsunade pointed out.

The girl muttered something inaudible prompting a "What?" from the Sannin.

"She insulted Naruto." the girl stated within human range this time.

Tsunade smiled. A girl with class liked her grandson. Ideas began to spring up in her head as well as memories of the rumors of life in the Hyuuga compound. _ I think I'll like having this girl around_ thought Tsunade. _I can make it my personal mission to toughen her up a bit_.

"OK. Banishment it is then. Pack your things and be at the gates at midnight tomorrow. You can be escorted out along with Naruto who is also banished." Tsunade was going to enjoy the blushing cheeks when all of this worked out.

...

At he appointed time Hinata approached the gates of Konoha. The site that greeted her was not what she had expected. Naruto was dashing from pack to pack inspecting each one. Shizune was going through a list and occasionally leaning over to Tsunade to ask one thing or another. Tsunade herself was standing hands on hips tapping her foot in obvious perturbation.

"E-excuse me." the girl approached meekly.

"Ah! Hinata. good good. Just have to wait on that old lecher." Tsunade greeted and glossed over the girl in the same breath.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" Naruto questioned.

_Oh yeah_. Thought Tsunade. _This is going to be interesting_. "She is my new apprentice and she is going with us." Tsunade grinned

"OK?" Naruto was confused but a part of him was happy too.

"Hokage-sama? I th-thought I was being banished with Naruto." The girl questioned.

"Oh?" the older woman questioned. "Well change of plans. We are all leaving the village and you are coming with us. I'll explain everything once we are out of the village but for now Jiraya is coming and we need to hurry." Tsunade was preoccupied as Jiraya jumped down from a near by roof.

"Got It." he proclaimed holding up a large scroll.

"Perfect!" Tsunade smiled. "Any last good-byes anyone?" she questioned.

"Yeah I got one." Naruto looked up from the bag he was hovering over with a device that looked like a walky talky in his hand. A grin grew across his face until it was a giant smile. He depressed the button on the top of the device and turned to face the Hokage monument as explosions rocked the mountain.

"What did you do?" Shizune nearly screamed at the boy.

The side of the mountain containing the faces of five Hokage was shrouded in dust. When a slow wind ran across the sky the faces were all still present with a notable addition to the right of the others. The smiling face of Uzumaki Naruto was revealed giving the whole village his trademark wink.

"Two years of climbing that thing and placing paper bombs. Totally worth it!" the boy beamed with pride.

"Got to admit the kid is inventive." Jiraya nodded admiring the boy's handiwork.

Tsunade just laughed. _Believe it_. She thought holding her sides as she laughed.

"Well with that we should head out in a big way." Tsunade suggested getting nods of approval all around.

"Wait!" Naruto requested, getting an idea. He turned to Jiraya and whispered something is his ear after puling him down to his height. The Sannin smiled at the boy and nodded. The boy hugged him and then ran out of the village the kunoichi behind soon catching up and heading off into the night.

Jiraya waved and called "I'm right behind you kid." Waiting till the group was out of earshot to wonder "how did he guess? I suppose a kid cant hang out with his grandpa for this long and not put two and two together." He smiled at the thought of the boy. He then leered at the memory of Tsunade and had to hold a sleeve to his nose to stop the blood.


	2. Chapter 2

**_I do not own Naruto or any related characters._**

The group traveled for a couple hours before Tsunade called a halt and they set a small camp.

"OK" Tsunade released a breath and surveyed the encampment and the small group awaiting her next orders. "well I think its time to clear some things up and then we can get some rest and decide where we want to go."

"agreed." Shizune said. "first I think you should fill your new students in on their status." she grinned at the younger two.

"ah, yes. Congratulations, you are both chunnin." Tsunade pulled a scroll from the top of her bag opened it and handed each teen a green flak vest.

"what? Really?" an obviously excited Naruto questioned.

"yeah being Hokage has its perks." Tsunade winked in response. "you have both been promoted and granted apprenticeship to the greatest medic-nin in the world."

"i-it will be my honor to study under you Hokage -sama." Hinata bowed deep.

"now none of that." the Sannin interjected. "Tsunade-sensei will do just fine. From here out we are all family. I don't think I've made it very clear the circumstances under which we left. We are not rouge but we don't have a village or a daimyo, or anyone else to back us up."

"OK granny." the young blond seemed very ready for some answers. "you said you had a plan and now we are all out here in the woods waiting to hear it. So give us the goods before I fall asleep already."

"listen here punk." Shizune held out an arm to restrain the approaching Sannin from clobbering the boy. "this is how it goes. You two are now my apprentices, along with Shizune We are going to set up shop in another village and continue teaching you two to be shinobi. I released us from service to Konoha, so we wont be hunted but we are really on our own out here. We have enough information to shield us from political action for a time, but not forever. We need to find a place and begin building our own hidden village. In the mean time, we stick together and figure out our strategy as we go."

"ts-Tsunade-sensei?" Hinata requested. "I d-don't understand why you are here. I thought it would be just me and N-Naruto"

"oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that. "did you now? Would you like us to leave you two alone for a while?" the older woman teased.

The Hyuuga turned a shade of red that nearly glowed in the fire light.

"well first of all, I could not let Naruto be banished without taking some kind of action." the teasing tone was dropped, replaced by one of serious clarification. "it was Naruto-chan that convinced me to become Hokage He was the only reason I was in the village to begin with, so when the council would not budge on his exile, I had to go too. It is my duty to look after him and make sure he grows up to be an honorable man and a great shinobi."

"like my dad!" an excited Naruto butted in.

"y-your dad?" Hinata queried.

"yeah my dad was the fourth Hokage The greatest ninja to ever live. And Obaa-chan is going to help me be even stronger." the boy bragged puffing his chest with pride.

"o-Obaa-chan?" the Hyuuga girls expression was one of shock and confusion.

"oh yeah you don't know yet." Naruto mused. "Tsunade-hime is my Obaa-chan. Cant you see the resemblance?" the boy leaped across the fire into the lap of the grandmother in question and began squeezing her face into a fish like pinch, much to the bemusement of the respected kunoichi.

Hinata's surprise was overridden by the spectacle in front of her. She couldn't suppress a giggle as the older blond used a single hand to pinch the same fish face onto the younger one. The bond now seemed obvious, though she never would have guessed it before.

"but I still don't get why Hinata is here." the boy asked settling into his grandmothers lap with a foxy grin and a long held yawn. "she didn't do anything and she still has family and friends and a whole life in Konoha"

"care to fill him in?" Tsunade solicited the young kunoichi. When she only received reddened cheeks and evasive glances as a response she directed her speech to the boy in her lap. "Hinata assaulted a fellow leaf ninja and was assigned to this party as punishment."

"what? But Hinata is so nice and gentle. Who did you hit?" the boy directed his question to the still blushing Hinata

"s-Sakura." the girl informed him at little more than a whisper.

"thats right." Shizune added. "our young Hyuuga smacked the insult right out of Sakura's mouth."

"insult?" Naruto felt as if he were missing a good joke.

"apparently Sakura didn't have very flattering things to say about you." Shizune informed him.

"yeah she's not always the nicest. But what does that have to do with Hinata?" the boy asked still oblivious.

"she smacked Sakura for insulting you." Shizune over enunciated each word to add emphasis.

"huh? I still don't get why?" Naruto wondered, the impatience growing on his face.

"Naruto-chan. Don't be a baka." Tsunade rolled her eyes. She held a pensive expression for a few seconds before setting the boy down and searching through the underbrush for something. She returned a few moments later with a stick about a meter in length. "Naruto have you ever heard of the Zen monks?" Tsunade questioned while inspecting the stick.

"no. I don't get what this has to do with Hinata-san being here." the boy replied.

Tsunade kept her focus on the stick as she circled behind Naruto "in some temples the method to enlightenment was a sudden shock which gave clarification to the unquiet mind. Now I want you to think. When did you meet Hinata? What was she doing? When you have worked together, how did she treat you? Did you ever help her? Did she ever help you? I want you hold these questions in your mind. Got them?"

Naruto closed his eyes. The two younger kunoichi looked on wondering were this was leading. Naruto nodded slowly holding each question in his thoughts but still not seeing the point. Tsunade adjusted her grip on the stick and then let fly with a single blow to the top of the younger blond's head.

The boy opened his eyes but didn't seem to register the pain of the blow. His face held a new expression, one of understanding. "i get it!" the two older kunoichi nodded and prompted him to continue. Hinata looked at the ground. "Hinata-chan. You like me."

_he called me Hinata-chan! _ The girl let out a small squeak and then hit the ground unconscious in her embarrassment.

"oh. Yeah. I guess I should be more careful now." Naruto concluded. "i don't want to make Hinata-chan embarrassed."

"i think that's a good idea." commented Shizune "i think its also a good idea to get some sleep. Its been a big day. We can organize and make plans in the morning."

the two blonds yawned and nodded in agreement. Shizune carried Hinata to her tent and the Hokage retired to her own. Naruto remained by the fire. His thoughts kept him up for a couple more hours. Things were different now. All in forty eight hours he lost a village and his dream, but gained a family and something else he didn't quite understand yet. He wasn't sure what this new feeling was, or why he could hear the blood pumping in his ears when he thought of the ex-heiress. He would just have to wait until tomorrow to sort it all out.

Naruto woke to the gentle hand of his grandmother on his shoulder. Shizune had prepared breakfast and Hinata was stacking firewood. The tents were broken down, but in their place the packs were laid out on one tarp and another was empty next to it.

"morning Obaa-chan." Naruto stretched as he said it. Each time he addressed his grandmother it felt more and more natural. He smiled. _Family. _He thought. His smile this morning was larger than usual.

"you're just in time Naruto-kun." Shizune said noticing the awakened boy. "eat something and then we are going to take inventory."

Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet. He simply smiled through breakfast. After eating and washing up from a canteen he was ready to get to work.

"OK lets do it." Naruto smiled.

"alright." Shizune put on her long practiced secretary voice. "we have four bags, basic field cooking equipment, four single tents, four sleeping bags, and enough food for the four of us for about a week. Tsunade-sensei would you like to brief us on our library?"

"sure." the Sannin picked up the list. "we have my entire medical library, which is the best in the world. We have the Senju personal jutsu library, consisting of eight volumes and nine scrolls. We have the slug summoning scroll, as well as the scrolls for turtles, and falcons. The bulk of the Hokage library is here with more elemental jutsu than we could ask for, and all non-clan jutsu. Jiraya sent us a package specifically for Naruto. It has four books on seals four scrolls on the same, some scrolls on other jutsu including his non-sage jutsu, and for some reason there is an entire storage scroll full of pornographic books and a map of every hot spring on the continent." with that she rolled her eyes. "finally we have Sarutobi's monkey summon scroll, and the scroll of forbidden jutsu."

Naruto nearly vibrated in excitement at the promise of their treasure trove.

"Hinata Why don't you go over what you brought?" Shizune directed attention to the Hyuuga

"um, I b-brought three standard weapons packages, a field medical kit, six jars of healing salve, a book on herbs, spare clothes, and a standard Hyuuga clan training manual." the girl concluded pulling each item out of her bag as she listed it.

Tsunade noticed something lingering in the bag as the girl finished. She snatched it before Hinata had a chance to protest. The plush fox in her hand drew a bright red blush from the ex-heiress.

"kawaii." admired Shizune "it reminds me of Naruto-kun." Shizune smiled teasingly. "but back to business. What do you have Naruto?" she decided to spare the girl.

"i have all the essentials. Six kunai, twenty shuriken, one of those cool fuuton shuriken, a climbing harness and rope, paint, enough paper bombs to carve my face again, and last but not least a months supply of Ramen." the boy finished with a proud smile.

Shizune looked over the contents of the boys bag scattered on the tarp in front of him. She glanced at her sensei to see rolling eyes and a less than pleased expression.

"Naruto" Tsunade regarded her grandson in exasperation. "you are drastically under prepared. Why didn't you bring more supplies, or training equipment? What did you do with all that time you spent packing?"

"i needed to pack my Ramen" he explained as he emptied the bag in front of himself. Upwards of twenty scrolls littered the tarp in front of him.

Shizune did the math in her head quickly. "Naruto thats more than four hundred cups of Ramen That is a months supply?"

"yeah. If I ration it and eat something different for breakfast." he explained in a matter of fact tone.

"OK we'll table that issue for now." Tsunade rolled her eyes and continued. "i have twenty weapons kits. A field surgical kit, four full medical kits, a field pharmacological station, and a dashing piece of head wear." she smirked as she plopped the Hokage hat onto her head.

"you stole the Hokage hat?" Naruto's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"hey! Its basically a family heirloom. Plus it will positively grate on those bastards in the council." she smiled adjusting the hat into a comfortable position.

"alright, now we have an idea of our resources. The next issue is where do we go?" Shizune picked her secretary voice back up.

"i think we should ask our new friend what she brought to the table first." suggested Tsunade as she picked up a rock and flung it into the trees. A loud explicative followed. "you can come out. If you have something to share and you mean no harm you will be welcomed here." the Sannin assured.

"i think I can help you. if I can run off with you that is. Konoha has gotten so boring." Mitarashi Anko bargained. She stepped out of the brush rubbing her shoulder wearing a large backpack and grinning.

Tsunade didn't skip a beat. "sure. We could use the extra bodies. And I think your particular knowledge could seriously add to our efforts."

"great. I saw you as you were gathered ready to split and figured this could be my chance to finally get out of the village." Anko explained.

"i assume you heard the situation?" Shizune inquired.

"yeah. And like I said, I think I can help. I have supplies and training material, and an idea that would give us a secure base of operations for a while." Anko answered with a devious grin.

"why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Shizune countered.

Back in the village.

Jiraya was settling into his new office. Though he had been in this room many times before he couldn't help but think how different it looked from behind the large desk. The paperwork was stacked half a meter deep. Jiraya had no intention of getting to it. He had no intention of doing any work whatsoever. Jiraya never wanted to be Hokage, but when the elders approached this time he accepted readily. He was in the perfect position to help Tsunade with her little exodus, and torpedo the ability of Konoha to retaliate.

He surveyed the two pieces of paper in front of him with great interest. The first was a report of financial standing for the village. Tsunade had taken roughly a quarter of the total holdings with her. She had also tapped some of Konoha's non liquid assets. Deeds to properties around the village and various boats had been signed over to her name. The Namikaze and Senju mansions had been sealed and put into a holding to ensure their safe keeping. The white-haired Sannin couldn't help but admire the forethought of his once teammate.

The second piece of paper on his desk was a list of laws passed by the exiting Hokage He read and reread it and chuckled at the parting shot Tsunade had delivered.

Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, Shizune, and Senju Tsunade are here by pardoned of all crimes by command of the Godaime Hokage

Uzumaki Naruto, and Hinata Hyuuga are here by promoted to the rank of chunnin by the command of the Godaime Hokage

The files and libraries of the Namikaze and Senju clans, as well as those of the office of Hokage are remanded to the sole ownership of Senju Tsunade by command of the Godaime Hokage

To eliminate risk of assassination of capture all ninja over the age of 20 are to remain in the village at all times by order of the Godaime Hokage

Early graduation from the Konoha ninja academy will no longer be offered by order of the Godaime Hokage

The office of Konoha military police will be returned to the sole execution of the Uchiha clan by order of the Godaime Hokage

The orders were brilliant as far as Jiraya was concerned. One police officer for an entire hidden village. Only people between the ages of 12 and 20 able to leave. He had to give it to her, she had crippled the village and it would take weeks or even months to raise public outcry enough to be able to counter any of these measures. Confident in the group's relative safety for the moment Jiraya dug into a pile of personnel files. He selected a few and made ready for his own exodus. As soon as the newly crafted hat was on his head he would leave and join his family.

The toad sage walked down the street that afternoon thinking on how to deliver the invitations to his selected group. As he pondered he came across the Ichiraku Ramen stand. He decided to stop in for a sentimental meal.

"how's business Ichiraku-san?" inquired the new Hokage

"it could be better." replied the shop owner. "in fact I think it will be in a few days time."

"how do you mean?" Jiraya's interest now piqued.

"with Naruto gone my income is cut in half. And as far as I'm concerned its not the good half left. I have a few friends that still feed me information every now and again, and as soon as we know where Naruto has settled we are setting up shop in a new town." Teuchi informed the Hokage

"in that case I'll the first to treat our boy to a bowl once you set up shop." with that Jiraya smiled and left the cook to his business. He was suddenly not hungry and decided to hand deliver his missives that very day.

**thanks for reading. if you have a moment please review. i am looking for beta readers so if you have the time i would really appreciate the help. thanks again for the read through. more soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own naruto or any related characters**

With team Hokage

"This place is creepy." Naruto nearly shouted surveying the teams temporary residence.

"Yes. Yes it is. But no one will look for us here." Anko noted.

"It will do for now. We just need to clear some space and get some lights turned on." Tsunade concluded.

The complex they were currently occupying was used for research. The walls and ceiling were a neutral beige and the floors were all tile, for easy cleaning. The four smaller labs contained discarded glassware and tables but not much else. The clean up would be easy enough once a suitable place was found to dispose of the refuse. The small complex also housed a large open area once used as a surgical bay or small training ground. This area was depressed into the ground and similarly the tiles in the other rooms, except that the tiles here extended all the way up to the open conference room above.

"OK everybody, put your stuff down in that room there and we can start cleaning up a bit." Shizune quickly organized the tasks. "I'll get Tsunade-sensei set up in this room and if you run out of things to do stop in and she can start your training schedule."

Naruto dashed outside and in a few moments returned to grab a piece of rubbish and carry it out. This repeated every few seconds until the three rooms not holding the Hokage were cleared.

"Naruto how did you do that so fast?" Shizune asked in surprise.

"Well I went outside and made a bunch of shadow clones. One went and found a good spot to dump everything and the rest ran a line from here to there." he stated as if the answer were obvious.

"How many is a bunch?" queried the medic-nin.

"Um, like two hundred I think." the boy pondered. He darted out of the room and returned a moment later. "Yeah its two hundred fourteen." with that he grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well then this should be easy." Shizune mused. "Hinata, help Naruto clear the new training ground and save some chairs for the conference room. Naruto just keep it up and I'll tell Tsunade-sensei that you will be ready to start training in an hour or so."

With that the medic-nin disappeared only to pop back into the hall a moment later herding a distracted and disgruntled Sannin into her new office. In a matter of minutes the area was cleared. Soon after the complex was cleared of dust and mopped after which the lights were activated. The creepiness of the edifice had been significantly diminished. Nodding in approval Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and drag her with him to receive new instructions.

"Good." commented Tsunade "This place is looking much better. It will make a fine headquarters for team Hokage Many thanks to Anko-san for suggesting this place, and good work to all you for turning Orochimaru's lab into a workable space. And with that taken care of we can get to business The first business is training. We will set up a schedule that will allow us to train to the maximum possible as well allow us time to plan our activities as a team. Shizune and I have put together a schedule for now. Medical jutsu in the morning, chakra control and development after lunch, and new jutsu in the evening. We will take all of our meals together. This point is not negotiable. Any questions?"

Hinata shook her head slightly. Shizune smiled at the younger ninja. Tsunade regarded the group, estimating the strength and weakness of each individual. Anko was leering with some unknown mischief in her eyes, and Naruto grinned his infectious foxy grin.

"Obaa-chan, when do we start? Can we learn a cool jutsu now?" the boys excitement was plastered all over his face.

"You my boy are going to practice something very cool right now." for some reason Tsunade's smile made the boy shiver. "Shizune, take Hinata and start on basic diagnostic jutsu. Anko do you need anything further for your assignment?"

"Nope." assured a smiling Anko

"Then its just you and me punk." Tsunade grabbed the boy by his collar and sped down to the training ground. She quickly surveyed the surroundings and nodded in approval. "OK Naruto I want you to make a Rasengan."

The boy held a fierce smile. _Something I'm already good at. Yatta! _He celebrated internally. He popped a clone into existence and formed the spinning orb.

"Naruto-chan." the Sannin began with a patience the boy had rarely seen. "You can make a Rasengan, but can you hold it?"

The boy thought on this. "I've never really tried. I usually just make it and slam it into stuff."

"I thought as much. Well this is your chakra control exercise. Do you remember when I was telling you about Zen monks?" Tsunade questioned.

"Yeah." with a sudden remembrance the boy winced. "You aren't going to hit me with a stick are you?"

"No." she assured. "I want to tell you about a different Zen practice. A Zen archer took his apprentice and made him shoot arrows all day never putting down the bow. Even after he was done the boy was able to hold the bow in his mind cause it felt like part of his body. So I want you to do the same thing. I want you to hold that Rasengan all day. You can do anything else you want but if the Rasengan dissipates you are to make another one and continue. Got it?"

The theory made sense to Naruto He was amazed no one had ever given him this task before. "Got it!" he nearly screamed.

Hinata was a naturally good student. She sought approval from everyone, especially authority figures, so study was a simple thing for her. "Great job Hinata-chan." encouraged Shizune "I think you can start on intermediate techniques in no time."

The day's training was called to a halt in the late evening as the group was summoned to dinner. The four younger shinobi took their places with Naruto sitting next to Hinata and Tsunade, who took the head of the table.

"Alright. I think its was a good day." Tsunade broke the first short silence. "What do you all think? I want an assessment from each of you."

"Awesome!" no one was surprised that Naruto was the first to speak. "and check it out granny, I still have it going." the younger blond cheered as he pulled his hand from under the table revealing the glowing chakra ball in his hand. "I only had to make four in all this time."

The elder blond rolled her eyes, but was internally impressed at the boy's drive. "While I'm glad you are dedicated to your training, Naruto, I think this is not the appropriate place for it."

"Huh?" responded Naruto, confused.

"No Rasengan at the table." Anko chided.

"Oh. Gomen." the orb was disbursed and Naruto rubbed his head in embarrassment.

"OK next." prompted Tsunade, shooting a glance at Hinata

"I learned t-two diagnostic jutsu, and s-some theory. Sh-Shizune-sempai is a very good teacher." the girl gave her summary in a low voice but was able to look the former Hokage in the eyes for a few solid seconds before averting her gaze back to the table top.

"Well done Hinata-chan." Tsunade praised. She recognized the lack of self confidence and deeply desired to correct it. "OK Shizune, what do you think?"

"I'm very pleased with Hinata-chan's progress." Shizune was being modest. "She will need more advanced techniques by the end of the week. Also I noticed earlier today Naruto using shadow clones." the three older kunoichi nodded at this, knowing where the conversation was headed. "I think he could be putting those to greater use. He can sit in with Hinata for medical training and aiding Anko-san at the same time. Naruto, do you know the advantage you have?"

"Huh?" it seemed his standard answer for this meal.

"You can train like a beast in two hundred places at once." Anko piped up. "Make a clone and send it to my room, and then dispel the clone." she ordered.

The confused boy did as instructed. A grimace adorned his face after a moment. "You're a slob, Anko-san." the boy wrinkled his nose. "And why do you have so many of ero-sennin's books?"

It took a moment for all the pieces to come together. The elder women raised eyebrows and motioned expectantly for the revelation to come out of the young ninja's mouth.

"Hey!" a shocked look adorned Naruto's face "How did my sleep cap get into your room?"

A collective groan was emitted by the women.

"Don't you get it kid?" Anko spat. "How do you know what's in my room if you aren't there?"

"Huh?" the response was met by another collective groan.

"You receive all the memories of a dispelled shadow clone." Shizune explained. "Another word for shinobi, especially a master shinobi, is kage. Kage bunshin's are master intelligence gathering tools. You can send a kage bunshin into a dangerous place, never give up your position, and not worry that it needs to come back to deliver its information. You automatically get the intelligence. Thats what makes them so valuable. Anko-san is right. You have a tremendous advantage."

Naruto pondered on this for a moment. "Cool!" he cheered.

"OK, I will amend Naruto's training regimen to take full advantage of his abilities. For the rest of us I think one clone apiece is all we can handle for long periods of time so we will do our best." Tsunade already had plans working for the exceptional boy. "but carrying on. Anko-san, do we have a target? Or at least an idea?"

"Well I have a couple ideas," Anko smirked. "but I think a more advanced team would be required for most of them. I have one from the Konoha mission files we could undertake in short order if you are just itching for action."

"Good." the Sannin responded. "We'll go in two weeks. For now I want everyone concentrating on training. Do we have room assignments set up?"

"yes. The four ladies will take the private quarters, and Naruto can set a bedroll out in the training ground for now until we find something better." Shizune detailed.

"With that I think its time to get some rest." Tsunade stood and retired to her quarters. The others followed soon after.

Naruto was not sleeping. He was excited by the prospect of new jutsus, and held a strange feeling that wouldn't let him rest. He tried to hold the questions in his mind like Tsunade had showed him, but found no answers. He tossed and turned to find the lavender-eyed kunoichi standing next to his bedroll.

"Hinata-chan? You couldn't sleep either?" Naruto inquired.

"I uh I'm too s-scared to sleep." Hinata admitted.

"What are you scared of?"

"This p-place was used by o-Orochimaru I don't want to be a-alone here."

"No problem. Come on." with that Naruto grabbed the girl's hand and strode purposefully to her room. "I'll sit here and guard the door." he explained plopping himself down just inside the door. "Hinata-chan, you didn't have to be so nice to me, but you were. You left your whole life behind, and I wont forget it. I don't know what to do to repay you, but I will never let anything happen to you. Believe it!" he wasn't sure where the declaration had come form but he knew he meant it.

"N-Naruto.." was all Hinata could say. She just lay down with a hot blush adorning her cheeks.

In the morning Naruto noticed a weight against his right shoulder. He surveyed the scene in the dimly lit room. The bed was empty. His breath caught in panic until he looked at his shoulder, discovering a sleeping kunoichi curled against his side. The questions from the night before played through his mind again. His answers didn't seem to come. Some things were clear. He had a family, and would do anything to protect it. He couldn't be Hokage, but he could be the greatest ninja in history, surpassing his father. There was just one hole in his vision. He didn't know what the feeling that he was experiencing was. He heard blood pumping in his ears like thunder even now with the girl so close. His meditations were interrupted as Hinata stirred. She looked up into his face and realized where she was. She quickly leaped to her feet and ran out of the room. Naruto blinked and went after her to inquire what was wrong.

"Way to go kid!" Anko teased. "Only one night on the road and you're sneaking into Hinata-chan's room." she had stopped him directly outside Hinata's room as he exited to find her.

"What did you do to that poor girl?" Shizune accused as she entered the hall from her own quarters. Her sleep was interrupted by Anko's loud harassment.

"Nothing!" the boy insisted. "She was scared so I told her I would guard her room."

"I see." Shizune nodded. "and you slept where?"

"I sat next to the door. I was on the floor all night." Naruto was old enough to know what they were thinking even without his experiences with the pervy-sage of Konoha

"Uhuh. Well don't make a habit of sleeping on a bare floor. You wont get a good night's rest that way." Shizune ended the inquisition. Naruto was very glad to be out of the hot seat.

The morning progressed as laid out the night before. Hinata and a clone of Naruto studied medical jutsu and theory. Anko gave her summaries to Tsunade on the missions she felt would benefit the group. Meanwhile the original Naruto held a Rasengan in one hand and did the dishes in the tiny kitchen off of the conference room.

The group reassembled for lunch. The seating was the same as the night before. Tsunade inspected her team with a pleased lightness in her eyes. "The three of us are going to town." she announced waving her hand out to the left at the eldest of the group. "I want you two to continue practicing while we are gone. In fact I have an idea. I want you to each choose a jutsu from this scroll, learn it, and then teach it to each other." she declared lifting the infamous forbidden scroll onto the table.

"Yatta!" proclaimed the exuberant boy.

"Hai sensei." replied the girl.

After the meal the table was quickly cleared and the party split to achieve their respective tasks.

"OK Hinata-chan, what should we learn?" the boy asked unrolling the huge scroll on a now clear conference table.

Hinata looked over the various jutsu nervously. Her student's instinct told her to obey her sensei, but her Hyuuga instinct told her to avert her eyes from theforbidden scroll. In the end she settled on a restricted technique and began reading. Naruto was so engrossed with the techniques he didn't press his question until they had both nodded and retreated to a corner of the training ground to attempt the jutsu.

Hinata chose a technique that allowed the user to enter a shadow and walk along its length. Its was restricted because the shinobi was vulnerable at any point in the shadow so if the enemy saw the shinobi enter he could easily attack. Naruto chose a technique to boost one of the senses by sacrificing another. It was forbidden because if a practitioner did not restore the balance before his chakra was depleted the sacrificed sense would never recover. Naruto sent a dozen clones to practice while Hinata slowly and methodically practiced each hand sign, and read and reread the theory. In an hour each was ready to present their new jutsu.

"Cool! I'm ready to go. How about you Hinata-chan?" Naruto bounced with excitement.

"I th-think so." the girl was still unsure of herself but just being in the presence of this young shinobi made her want to try.

"OK the hand seals for mine go like this." Naruto ran through the hand signs a few times slowly. "but be careful, Hinata-chan. You should probably only hold it for a few seconds until you get a feel for how much chakra it drains." his smile built a resolve in her mind.

Hinata ran through the hand signs and called "Sense Replacement Jutsu." she infused chakra to her ears and gave up some of her sense of taste. She figured if it went terribly wrong she could live without a refined palate. The results of the jutsu amazed her. She could hear the leaves rustle outside of their buried headquarters.

"That's amazing Naruto-kun!" the girl smiled and pinkened as she released the technique.

"You are amazing!" the boy came back. "It took my twelve clones an hour to get that and you did it on the first try! Hinata-chan you're awesome!" he gave her his trademark wink and a foxy smile. She responded with a fierce blush.

"You th-think so Naruto-kun?" the girl asked the boy's shoes.

"I know it. You are amazing! Believe it!" Naruto proclaimed at a high volume. "Here, show me your new jutsu."

"It goes like th-this." she informed as she slowly modeled the hand signs.

"OK here goes nothing." the blond declared clapping the final sign and sinking into the shadow he was standing on. A few second later he reappeared a meter from where he started. "That is so cool!"

The two practiced the techniques until the older kunoichi arrived. Tsunade carried four futon while the others held groceries and various other shopping bags. The futons were deposited in the hall and the bags laid out on the table in the conference room. The food was sorted and stored in short order and then the youngest shinobi were called in to get the synopsis of their elders planning.

"Alright kiddies. We have an idea." Anko announced.

"Naruto, do you know what your name means?" Shizune questioned the boy.

"Yeah, its spiral, or those little things in Ramen" he answered with a longing smile at the thought of Ramen

"Yes. And also whirlpool." informed Shizune

"Your mother was a noble in the land of whirlpool." Tsunade had her Hokage briefing voice on. "When Iwa attacked the land of whirlpool, it was conquered but was never incorporated into the land of earth. There was a hidden village in the land of whirlpool but it was very small. It was never discovered and the location is thought to have been lost with the death of its last ninja, but we think we have a lead. The land of earth doesn't care anymore, so we would be free to settle there. The best part is that the demand for shinobi services is there if the supply were to present itself. So hands up who says we find Arashigakure?"

All in attendance raised a hand.

**Thanks to Elvis for giving me great beta help. and mostly thanks to you for reading this. I know its extortion but i will post a new chapter as soon as i get ten reviews. Thanks.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Naruto or any related character.**

The plan had been laid out and a destination was set, but the work of getting there was still in the seedling stage. It had been two days since the group decided to resurrect the village hidden in the storm, and the purpose drove activity in the underground sanctuary. Training was progressing for all involved and they had a small test mission scheduled to leave in twelve days.

Day 1

"Obaa-chan! I only had to replace my Rasengan once today!" the knuckle-head ninja bounced as he informed his grandmother of his latest feat.

"Excellent Naruto-chan." the grandmother praised. "How is your medical training coming?"

"Um, its OK I guess. Hinata is really good at it but its kinda slow for me." the boy answered trying not to make eye contact.

"Are you trying to say its boring Naruto?" Tsunade did not look pleased.

"Kinda." admitted Naruto sheepishly. "It's just that Shizune-nee-chan sounds like the teachers at the academy. All blah blah no bang boom."

"I see." the Sannin mused on this for a moment. "I see that we need to take a different tack with you Naruto I will oversee your medical training from here on out, but you need to show me effort worthy of the greatest ninja in history."

Naruto couldn't help but smile. The feeling of someone wanting to make a difference in his life was almost more than he could handle. "I will be your best student ever. Believe it!" his determination was plain as he assured his grandmother.

Day 2

"Hinata, you are naturally gifted in medicine." smiled Shizune The lesson today had gone very quickly without the distraction of the young blond. "We can start on more advanced jutsu and text tomorrow. Tell me Hinata, have you ever thought of becoming a medic before?"

"Well...yes...a little. When my mother died I wanted to help but didn't know what to do. The medic-nin were so amazing and they tried so hard. I have never seen my father give that much acknowledgment to anyone outside of the main house of Hyuuga"

Shizune was silent for a while. The girl had said volumes, showing a part of herself that few had ever seen. "Hinata-chan, that is a great reason to pursue medicine. I will do everything in my power to make sure you can be your very best. Thank you for trusting in me to help you with this."

Hinata continued her study without a word. The idea that a teacher would thank her made her smile and feel like she was glowing. The idea that Naruto would protect her, and more than that give his word to protect her, gave her goosebumps. She felt better about herself and her life than she ever had.

Day 3

Naruto awoke on the cot just inside Hinata's door. He had slept here since the first night. He remembered the fox from her backpack and the teasing comment from Shizune He wasn't sure what he was feeling for Hinata, but he knew a big part of it was trust. He thought of her defending him against Sakura's barbs. The thought of her leaving her home in the middle of the night to run away with him. He thought of all the times he had seen her in the academy, in the street, in the exams and how she always had something nice to say, or some encouragement. He knew she would not hurt him and he was fairly certain she would not reject him if she knew his secret.

"Hinata-chan? Hinata-chan are you awake?" he asked with a gentle voice.

"Hai Naruto-kun." she replied turning to face him.

"I have some thing important to tell you. I don't want you to be afraid of me, but I don't want to keep secrets from you either. If I tell you this will you promise to stay and listen to the whole thing?" he tested the waters.

"Of course Naruto-kun." she wondered how she could ever fear Naruto She was nervous around him a lot, though less and less it seemed, but she could never really fear him.

"I have the Kyuubi-no-Kitsune sealed inside my body. When my dad fought it he knew he could not kill it so he sealed it away in me to keep it from destroying the village." Naruto waited for her reaction.

"So you saved us all? Arigato Naruto-kun, you're a hero." her answer left Naruto dumbstruck.

"So you aren't afraid of me? You don't hate me now?" Naruto couldn't hold the shock from his face.

"No, never." she gave a small smile as she lifted the plush fox from under the covers and squeezed it to her chest.

Day 4

"Great job." praised Tsunade "Now we need to get you on to the next challenge. I want you to hold two Rasengan all day. Now that you have a feel for one I want you to concentrate on the difference of holding two. This will help you get an idea for putting out a specific amount of chakra."

"Two it is." Naruto grinned. He made the necessary clones and got to work.

"OK an send a clone to my office we will continue with medical jutsu." she reminded as she left to her quarters.

Day 5

"I can't take it any more!" screamed Anko, throwing herself face down on Shizune's futon.

"What happened" Shizune inquired worriedly.

"That kid is a monster." Anko spat. "I was out there teaching him taijutsu and he just will not quit. He figured out how to use his clones to split a big problem into a bunch of little ones, so I was running around showing thirty fox-faced blonds different Hebi-Kata. He works them over for a while and asks questions in thirty voices all at the same time. By the time I sort out all his problems he dispels the clones grins like the son of the devil and the whole thing starts over. He learned enough in four hours to push me to my limit. The kid can't be stopped, he wants to learn my jutsu, get better at them than me, and then eat my soul. He's the devil hiding behind that grin, and if I hear 'believe it!' one more time I'll scream."

Shizune just smiled. _He's going to change us all. He's going to change everything._ She thought.

Day 6

"And this one?" Tsunade pointed to the arm of a skeleton hung in the training area.

"Come on granny give me a hard one. Thats the humerus." the boy rolled his eyes.

"OK, so show me the possible fractures on this bone." the Sannin drilled her student.

Naruto picked out the bone from the display. He made six clones and each took to bashing, twisting, and damaging the bones in a unique way.

"There we go granny. Straight, hairline, spiral, compound, and one at each joint." the boy smiled.

"Good now how do you repair and treat each one?" the drilling continued well into the afternoon.

Day 7

"How is Hinata coming along?" Tsunade inquired after her apprentice.

"She's driven and a hard worker. She has natural talent and her chakra control is excellent. I think she is going to be one of the best medic-nin either of us has ever seen." Shizune puffed her chest in pride as she gave her report.

"That's excellent. I think I can start teaching both of them the strength technique in a couple of days. For now I'd like you to begin showing Hinata how to do seals for medical purposes." the Sannin ordered.

"No problem. And how's Naruto doing with his training?" Shizune asked.

"He's a handful. I figured out that if you let him see the cause of an injury first he'll pay more attention when you show him how to fix it. He'll be a fine medic some day, but for now he's a boy and he loves explosions." Tsunade rolled her eyes at the last part.

Shizune smiled, thankful she wasn't on Naruto duty at the moment.

Day 8

"Naruto you are a very fast learner." praised the Sannin "For your chakra control I'm going to give you this scroll. It's not really a training manual, more like a story. I want you to read it and using the exercises you already have as a base, then I want you to create your own way of building chakra control."

Naruto looked over the scroll with an excited gleam in his eye. The story was about a monk who devoted his life to training and would perform amazing feats with very simple tools. He used bags of rice to increase his strength, and brass rings to help with the control of his staff. Naruto was not a typical student. Classroom learning was very difficult for him, but the boy was creative. This assignment pleased him to no end, especially considering the fact that it had no end. Tsunade had to look away as she left. She could swear the boy had the devil's own grin.

Day 9

"Teamwork." Anko began. "You have heard the word and you know what it means, but do you know how to do it?"

"sure." Naruto responded. "you get in a team and everybody works. Simple."

"Um, no." Anko corrected. "You get in a team and you learn about your teammates. You figure out what each one can do and what they can't do. You find the gaps in your skills and tell your team about them, and they do the same. Then you figure out how the skills of the group can be used to counter the gaps in the individual. Get it?"

"I have a weakness." Hinata began. "or more correctly the Byakugan has a weakness. Its a blind spot right here." the girl explained reaching a hand over her shoulder to the third thoracic vertebrae.

"So Naruto what can we do as a group to stop this from being a liability?" Anko found this a perfect starter problem for their team strategy.

The boy pondered on this for moment, made the hand sign, and a clone appeared in a puff of smoke. Both boys smiled and one circled behind Hinata, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "we cover her back." the boy answered. Hinata blushed even as she settled into the hug. The hardened jounin rolled her eyes at the sickeningly cute display.

Day 10

Three kunoichi walked through the training area in shock. They were stepping through a forest of Naruto clones training in a furious zealotry. They mostly watched with gapping mouths and pinched brows, but would break their mystified stares to lean over and comment to each other.

The boys each performed a different exercise. One held the Rasengan and increased its size to double. He watched it waver and once stable again would shrink it back to its original shape. One held his hand up and forced the glowing orb to raise a few centimeters from his hand and then slowly settle back. One formed the chakra ball and pushed it to his finger tips. Once there he shrunk the ball so it would fit between his stretched fingers. He created another and did the same until one was resting in each of the spaces of between his fingers. Each exercise was repeated and repeated without rest or breaking of concentration.

The women were amazed. The boy had created forty or more chakra control exercises and was simultaneously perfecting them all. The boy dispersed the clones and flashed the devil's grin at his teachers. "Obaa-chan, check this out." Naruto clapped his hands and upon pulling them apart filled the increasing space with the familiar spinning chakra ball. He lifted the orb, now almost a meter across over his head. He was sweating and grimaced at the concentration and effort involved, but upon releasing the jutsu with another clap of his hands he smiled at his observers. "What do you think?"

"He's a monster" Anko whispered.

"Exceptional control" noted Shizune

"That's my boy!" Tsunade rushed over to hug the panting boy of whom she was so proud.

Naruto settled into the hug. It was the best feeling of his life.

Day 11

Anko walked out into the hall. She rubbed her eyes and began a trudge to the bathroom. As she passed Shizune's room she noticed a light on. Ever the curious ninja she listened in as the medic-nin mumble about new poisons and how to make them spread further. Anko rolled her eyes. _Its four in the morning. What kind of freak is studying at four in the morning?_ She continued down the hall passing the former Hokage's quarters. Through a small crack in the door Anko could see the older woman pouring over texts and taking notes. _Maybe its a medic thing. _She mused as she trudged on. Passing Hinata's room she could hear obvious snoring. She smiled to herself. _At least someone is getting proper sleep. _Her amusement was interrupted when a noise from the training area drew her wandering feet in that direction. She observed the young heiress disrobed walking on the ceiling and going through her clan fighting style. OK_ points for training naked, but still what kind of outfit did I get myself into? I thought this was team Hokage, not team Gai. _She shook her head and went to get a drink. She passed back by Hinata's room and slid the door open a few inches. The blond boy, complete with night cap and pajama's was snoring away in his cot. She smiled and continued on. Her room was the one closest to the entrance, and as she retreated to her room she noticed the hatch to the outside was open. She went to correct the error and found a surprise on the other side of the open entrance. Clones as far as she could see littered the forest. Each blond boy was busy in his chosen study. The ones closest the entrance were reading and taking notes from various texts. Further out a dozen or so where arguing in a fierce sign language. Others battled each other, while some held the Rasengan in various exercises the jounin recognized from before. _That's it. They are all freaks. I'm going to need to train harder to keep up. _Anko thought. She considered her options. OK_ train hard starting tomorrow night. Just watching all this makes me tired. _She finally retired and fell asleep immediately, after making a long list of things she could practice the next morning.

Day 12

"I trust everyone got a good night's rest." Tsunade called breakfast to order. "We are setting out at noon today and should arrive at nightfall tomorrow."

"Are you both packed?" Shizune asked the younger shinobi.

"Yep" the exuberant blond responded. Hinata just nodded.

"And you brought camping gear and ninja tools, not just Ramen right?" Shizune doubted the boys preparedness.

"Yeah. I've been studying the scrolls pervy sage sent me and I made a bunch of storage scrolls. I also found one that lets me hop from one place to another with this seal on a kunai. So I can just leave one here in case I forget anything." the boy smiled in satisfaction. He was quite proud of himself for his forethought.

The three older kunoichi grabbed the edge of the table, and were at the edges of their seats in an instant. Naruto began to get nervous at the expectant looks in their eyes. Each woman's face held a unique combination of shock, disbelief and excitement.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" the boy asked apprehensively.

"Naruto tell me everything about this technique. Where did yo find it? How did you learn it? Everything." Tsunade demanded.

"Um it was in one of pervy sages scrolls. The instructions were really long and kinda boring but I just did what they said and poof! Wait here I'll go get it and show you." Naruto ran off to get the scroll in question.

He presented it to the assembled kunoichi. They studied it for a long time before commenting.

"Naruto these instructions are gibberish. How did you read them?" Shizune asked, seriously doubting him.

"Um I just kinda did. Like I said it was kinda boring but once I figured out what was going to happen I read the whole thing." Naruto explained.

"Naruto can you read it for us, out loud?" Anko pushed the scroll across the table to the boy.

The now chunnin began slowly and as he grew more confident read through the text. The party at the table noticed that he only read every fourth or fifth word. The random pattern of words seemed to flow into real sentences and instructions.

"Naruto you just broke the fourth's secret code." Tsunade explained. "He coded his most famous technique so no one else could steal it and you figured it out without even trying. It seems A.D.D. has its uses."

"Hey I don't have A.D.D. I can pay attention to anything I want." Naruto protested.

"And it turns out the things you want to pay attention to are S-rank secrets and SS-ranked techniques. Good job Naruto" Tsunade beamed at the boy. "So how many times can you do this technique?"

"Well I only have one of these kunai," he took out a three pointed kunai from the pouch on his belt. "so I can only do it once. I tried copying the seal but it took forever and I got bored so I trained with the Rasengan and my chakra control, then did the dishes, made some Ramen, did the shadow walking jutsu, and listened to some butterflies flap their wings a couple miles from the base."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. _Pay attention indeed. _"OK we get it Naruto You need to copy that seal to be able to do it more times though. Your father defeated entire armies with that technique. It is more powerful than you can imagine, and you should learn that seal inside and out."

"Got it." the boy confirmed in elation. "I'll have them work on it while we do the mission."

"Who is them?" Anko queried.

Naruto winked and flashed a smile as he produced hundreds of clones without a hand sign.

"Right. Them."

**Thanks for reading. turns out i'm just like everyone else and i just want approval. the response so far has been great so thanks. more soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I dont own Naruto or any related characters**

Jiraya inspected his final commands as Hokage and stamped his approval. He would leave that night and take the last legs out of Konoha as he went. Of the nearly dozen people he had considered as candidates in his defection he had settled on only two as being reliable. He could mold these young people into great spy masters and it would do their new village good to have more young people.

The toad sage tacked his proclamations to the council chamber door and went to pack.

Jiraya of the Sannin, Yamanaka Ino, and Aburame Shino are hereby pardoned of all crimes and relieved of duty to the village hidden in the leaves by command of the Rokudaime Hokage.

Yamanaka Ino, and Aburame Shino are accepted as apprentices of Jiraya of the Sannin and promoted to the rank of chunnin by command of the Rokudaime Hokage.

Konoha is hereby allied to Arashigakure by command of the Rokudaime Hokage.

Any clan or individual wishing to relocate to Arashigakure will be allowed to do so without prejudice, anyone hindering the ability of an individual or clan to relocate to or communicate with Arashigakure will be put to death by torture by command of the Rokudaime Hokage.

The ANBU of Konoha are now charged with the protection of important persons of Arashi as well as Konoha. Appropriate force to see to the well being of leaders and dignitaries of Arashi will be available to those persons at all times by command of the Rokudaime Hokage.

Jiraya finished packing and went to the bar to relax for an hour or so before he needed to meet his selected defectors. While sitting on his stool daydreaming of the impressive bust with which he would soon be reunited he was approached by two men. The first was the crippled but by no means handicapped elder Danzo, the other was the famous copy-cat ninja Hatake kakashi.

"Are you serious with your proclamations?" the elder demanded.

"I am. Its a good idea to have allies and I like those kids I think they have a lot of potential." the Sannin rolled his head as he spoke. The drinks seemed to be catching up to him.

"The village would be better served if you took Uchiha Sasuke as an apprentice." Kakashi stated. "He has a great burden now that Tsunade strapped him with the military police all by himself. We need to concentrate on correcting the damage her and Naruto did."

"Ah." Jiraya sighed. "So you want me to cut any possible relations to a former Hokage and you want me to train your student because he is entitled to something?" he pointed to each man as he questioned them.

"You need to look after the interests of the village and those are keeping our village free of the taint of that woman's failure and desertion and we need to maintain the glory of our great clans." Danzo approached closer to the Sannin with each demand.

"Danzo-sama is right." agreed the copy nin. "Sasuke is the last of our greatest clan and we need to make him ready for any threats that could come our way."

Danzo took a final step toward the Hokage "are you Hokage or are you the drunken lecherous lout you seem to be?"

Jiraya stood slowly. He wobbled as he turned to face the elder. "you're right. I'm a drunk. And a lecher." his eyes shot up from the floor and his countenance became gravely clear. "and a Sannin. And a grandfather!" he roared the last sentence. "you will show some respect. And you will remember to whom you are speaking." he placed one large hand over the man's face and walked the three steps to the wall slamming Danzo's head into it.

"And you!" the enraged Sannin directed his attentions at Kakashi. "You who couldn't teach Naruto one technique want me to share my knowledge with your spoiled little traitor of a student? You talk about the great clans? How about the Namikaze?"

"It is because of my sensei that I want Sasuke to be great. In his memory I wish for the boy to be a strong servant of Konoha." Kakashi explained.

"Ha! You want him to be strong to justify abandoning the rest of your charges. And by the way, Naruto is the son of the fourth. He is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. You failed your teacher and you failed your village. Naruto would forgive you. He would never seek revenge for all the wrongs and slights dealt to him by this village, or the neglect of his teachers. He is not that kind of person. But I am. If you make any move against Naruto or his family, I will kill you in the name of my son Namikaze Minato, and my grandson Uzumaki Naruto. Believe it!"

With that the toad sage stomped out leaving the copy nin stymied. Kakashi had to catch his breath and contemplate his mistakes. Jiraya had a meeting to get to and a village to vacate.

"Yamanaka-san, why did you volunteer for this situation?" Shino asked.

"What do you mean? I get to train with a legendary Sannin. Who wouldn't want to come?" the girl responded.

Ii see." Shino held his reserved tone as usual. "I hope I am not overstepping courtesy, but what does your family think of your choice?"

"Not at all Aburame-san" Ino mocked the boy's tone in the formal address. "Its only my father and me anyway. He didn't like that I would be gone for so long, but he supports my decisions. He says this is surprising but it will give him more time for missions and less expenses on his bank accounts." the girl smiled. "And you? Why are you here?"

the bug user was silent for a moment before he responded. "I come from a clan of ninja. They agreed fully that I should pursue this opportunity to become a stronger ninja. They accepted the possibility that I may never return."

"That's sad." the girl lamented.

"That is the nature of ninja. We do our jobs and we may never come home. My family are all ninja and they know that service to the Hokage is of more value than the life of a single ninja, even if it is their son."

"Noone is dieing." Jiraya rolled his eyes overhearing the conversations of his new apprentices.

Later on the road the conversations continued. Shino was curious about the young kunoichi's presence and became uncharacteristically chatty. "This situation came to be because of Naruto. The council's actions upon his return with the missing Uchiha forced the Hokage to leave to prevent Naruto's execution. I would have guessed that you would side with Uchiha-san. Was this not the case?" Shino directed his question to Ino.

"At first it was, though now I am kinda ashamed to admit it." Ino lost her mischievous grin as she looked to the ground. "I was worried for Sasuke and went to visit him in the hospital. I had heard all the things the council and the villagers were saying about Naruto and I believed it, but when I found the truth I couldn't even look at Sasuke. He was still in a coma from the battle and I thought I could enter his mind and wake him up. I went in and there was darkness and anger everywhere. I saw the fight with Naruto and saw Sasuke make up his mind to leave Konoha and how he was bent on revenge. He would do anything to kill one person and there was no room for love in him. I knew Sasuke was to blame for the whole incident and the village was covering for him. So there I knew the council was getting rid of Naruto for another reason. That's when Jiraya-sama came and told me about the invasion with sand and sound. He told me about how Naruto stopped Gaara. If he hadn't fought Gaara then the jounin of the village would have. My dad was one of those jounin and he probably would have died. Naruto saved my dad, so it was a no brainer whose side I was on in the end."

"I see." Shino monotoned. "Thank you for entrusting this information to me, even though you don't know me that well. I appreciate honesty and trust in a team mate."

"OK you two." Jiraya broke in. "We are going to the village hidden in the storm. Once there we will continue standard ninja training but the focus of our missions will be a little different than you are used to. We will be building up a resource base for that new village for what could be several years. One resource especially important to a ninja village is information. That is where you two come in. did you know I was the spy master of Konoha?"

The duo shook their heads.

"I was. I am taking those assets with me to the new village, but we will need more. I will be teaching you to be spy masters. You will learn to cultivate assets, build information networks and finally how to engage in direct infiltration and spy craft." the Sannin winked and put on a smile that reminded the young ninja of a familiar fox faced blond.

"I will put all of my efforts into your lessons Jiraya-sensei." Shino assured.

"Me too!" Ino's smile had returned. "What's first?"

Jiraya began expounding on the first tenants of spy craft as the trio walked ever further from the village hidden in the leaves. The young shinobi listened in rapt attention. The possibility of becoming great spy masters was an alluring one. The walking lecture was suspended as the small group made camp for the night. In the morning they continued on to a small village near the border of the former land of whirlpool.

"Spy masters in training should be able to cultivate an asset within an hour. This is not a battle situation and fear is not a good way to get someone to talk to you. Your assignment is to enter this village and make a friend. That person should either have information to give you, or have access to information that they can give you later. You have one hour. Got it?" Jiraya gave his command and was met by nods as his students disapeared into the small village.

An hour later both would be spy masters found the Sannin napping under a tree on the outskirts of the village.

"What have you got?" the teacher asked upon rousing.

"I encountered a farmer who was very willing to give me directions to the surrounding villages. I spoke to him for a time and he was able to describe this area in detail. I now have a detailed map that includes travel routes and locations of resource centers." Shino enumerated his findings.

"Excellent." Jiraya praised. "And you, Ino-chan?"

"I went to the best source of information in town." the girl smiled as she gave her report. "I walked the market for a little while and all the ladies were happy to help me. I told them I was new in town and they told me where everything is and gave me a detailed list of all their sons. I also got the gossip about trade, social happenings, and comings and goings of the village. There are half a dozen people who will tell me anything they know after today."

"Great job. Both of you will make fantastic spies." the Sannin encouraged. "Now the second task. We all need to get any and all information about Arashigakure. Especially its location. We need to find it by the time Tsunade-hime gets back from her practice mission with her team."

**thanks for reading. this one is shorter than usual, but there was no good place to cut it. i will get you fine readers another chapter soon too make up for it. thanks again.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Naruto or any related characters.**

"This is where the lady's party disappeared. What is nearby?" Tsunade asked of her students.

"Um, nothing except for an old castle." Naruto informed her.

"Then that's where we start. I want you to think like ninja. If you kidnapped a noble woman how would you set up your camp? If you set up in an abandoned castle what defenses would you make? Then I want you to counter those measures and find a way to get your VIPs back safely." the former Hokage ordered.

"Got it!" the young blond enthused.

The younger shinobi ran up the road to the castle. They spread into a loose formation and began circling the edifice in opposite directions. They returned to the front of the building and stood ready to report to their mutual teacher.

"There are remnants of the carriage and a discarded sword near the castle." Hinata reported.

"There were no tracks or marks" continued the other chunnin "it's as if whatever brought them to the castle didn't walk on the ground. What if it's ghosts?" Naruto suddenly paled.

"Naruto don't be ridiculous. There is no such thing as ghosts." Tsunade chided in a grandmotherly fashion.

"You don't know that. There could be ghosts and phantoms and spirits and they could eat us like they ate the lady and her guards." the boy was visibly agitated. "I'm outa here!"

The Sannin lifted the boy off the ground by the collar as he tried to run away. "You are going in and we are finishing this mission. Here's the plan. You two enter and Anko will stay out here to keep an eye out for backup. Shizune and myself will canvas the rest of the area and see if there is any other possible explanation. Ready? Go!"

The two chunnin reluctantly entered the building and surveyed the interior. It was poorly lit and dusty from ceiling to floor. They continued a detailed sweep of the fully furnished dining room.

"That painting is creepy." Naruto pointed at a portrait, locking eyes with the armored figure in said portrait.

"N-Naruto, I don't like it here. I think we should stay together. I'll scan with the Byakugan and then we can leave." the girl half whispered as she grasped her teammates arm. She activated her bloodline trait and began scanning the room. After a moment a worried look crept across her face. "Naruto, something is strange. I can't see through the walls. It seems they have a chakra signature of their own."

Naruto was slowly becoming a thinker in his days since leaving Konoha He thought over the facts he knew for a moment and decided that something was wrong and he needed support to deal with it.

"OK Hinata-chan. I think we should get out of here and ask Anko-sensei what she thinks." the boy began to lead the young heiress to the main entrance. As they approached the doors the floor began to quake. They stopped in their tracks readying for any assault. The former Hyuuga heiress activated her all-seeing eyes once more.

"Naruto-kun, over there. There is a break in the chakra network over there." Hinata pointed to a room up the stairs.

Naruto grabbed the girls hand and they leaped to the second level. A door stood open and led to what appeared to be a library. The pair entered and scanned the room for threats. As they stepped further into the large room and looked through the stacks the rumbling of the building subsided. The two were drawn to a desk littered with scrolls and books. Hinata picked one up and began reading.

"I think we are in over our heads Naruto-kun." Hinata explained a moment later. "The master of this castle used a ninja technique to wipe out his enemies, and I think it's still active now. We need to get outside and get Tsunade-sama to dispel this."

"OK I can get back to the base, but I'm not sure you can come with me." a look of disappointment crossed the young shinobi's face. "Can you see any weaknesses in the chakra of the walls?"

The young kunoichi again investigated the network of lifeforce that ran through the castle. "I don't see any weaknesses, but all the lines intersect near the top of the castle."

The ground once again quaked and began to change color, turning to a purplish red. The two ninja were on alert in an instant. The shelves of the library suddenly moved forming a half-circle trap around the duo. They quickly took to the walls and escaped the library with only seconds to spare before the door closed and turned to a flesh-like substance pulsing with life. Outside the library the rest of the castle had transformed into a mass of tentacles and fleshy pulsing floors. Left with no visible alternative the pair leaped further and further up the building until they found themselves in a small attic space. On a covered alter before them a scroll lay untouched and unchanging with the rest of the scenery. The quaking of the ground had paused as the two surveyed the small room. A cold wind passed through Naruto's jacket. The form of an armored man walked through the startled boy and beckoned once it stood in front of him.

"I think he's the master of the castle." Hinata whispered in the boy's ear.

"Please ghost-san. Help us. We are not your enemy." the boy pleaded to the beckoning ghost. "You protected your country and your precious people. I want to do the same, but your jutsu is going to hurt innocent people and worse its going to hurt Hinata-chan. Ghost-san please. Help me protect my precious people."

The apparition cast its eyes to the ground and slowly walked to the offending scroll. He placed a ghostly hand on the seal and the entire building seized and shook. From the outside a great white swirl of smoke replaced the once stately edifice. Red eyes glowed through the mist before the whole thing vanished leaving two very surprised teens falling from what used to be the fourth floor.

"A spy having some access or inroad to an information network is called a leak. This is a very fitting term. A leak is not a rush of information nor does it take away from the flow of the larger pipeline." Jiraya took his lessons in spycraft very seriously. In the two days that the trio were in the small village, he had delivered three lessons a day. He continued to expound on the subject to his attentive audience. "The best work a spy will ever do is to make a leak and keep it going for years with no one noticing. I have an informant within Kumo that has given me reliable information for almost a decade, and he has never been discovered nor has he ever been restricted in his activities. The leak is so small that it may go unnoticed for years to come. It is not fancy or glorious, but I have a standing appointment to meet and get information from this man every two months. This is actually two lessons in one. Cultivate an asset, and build a network. After a while you will simply go from one meeting to another and gather information that is freely given."

The pair considered the lesson and nodded as they took it in. They had given up the urge to take notes after having heard the lesson on keeping your trail clear. Within the village each student had three solid assets that were giving them valuable information and helpful leads as to the whereabouts of the village hidden in the storm. Jiraya was not just pleased with their progress, he was impressed. He patted himself on the back for his ability to spot talent, and decided he would give the pair the surprise he had been saving. They would meet with Tsunade in a days time and he thought it fitting to reward the duo for their hard work so far.

"I have something for each of you." the Toad Sage smiled. He reached into his bag to retrieve a storage scroll. He turned his back to the gennin and undid the seal. He turned back and presented each of his students with a dull green flak vest. "on my authority as Hokage, I have made you chunnin Congratulations!"

Ino's eyes shot open in surprise. Shino was more reserved, remembering to thank the elder man. "Congratulations Ino-san." he said and began to unzip his heavy coat. The girl muttered a thank you but was enthralled by the sight of the perpetual cover coming undone. Shino turned before the girl got a look at his face and continued to unzip the heavy garment. Shino pulled the coat open and dropped it off his shoulders. He caught it before it hit the ground and hung it from a nearby low hanging branch. Ino could only stare at the boys bare back. Her eyes took in the toned muscle and smooth skin. Her urge to reach up an touch the unclad figure was almost more than she could bear. Shino put the flak vest on and threw his coat on over the top. He turn back to facing his teammate just as the final tooth of the zipper closed once again masking his features. The girl didn't even realize she had let out a light sigh until her teammate addressed her.

"Ino-san, are you alright?" Shino asked concerned.

The girl replied. "uh, yeah I was just...I'm excited about our promotion. Congratulations Shino-kun."

The kunoichi's sudden interest did not escape the notice of the legendary pervy-sage. He just chuckled and left the two to set up camp and prepare for the evening as it was getting late. He stole into town and went digging for his last resource before they had to meet with Tsunade, and he would have to show progress when they met. _I just hope it won't be weird living in the same place again. I miss her but I don't want this to blowup and ruin things for everyone. Oh well time will tell._

At the camp Ino had yet to take her eyes off of the Aburame. She was enamored with the glimpse she got and was all the more curious to see his face. The staring was not lost on Shino, but his ninja decorum kept him from reacting until the chores were seen to. The camp was set up now and a small fire cooked the pair's simple meal. There was a long silence as Ino sat across from Shino and tried to mask her stares by keeping the fire between them. Shino quietly cooked, but when the glances and sighs became to much for him he had to do something.

"Ino-san, is something the matter?" he felt it would be prudent to start slow.

"No" sigh "Why do you ask?"

"It seems you have been looking at me for some time now. Did I do something to offend you? Do I have something on my jacket?" innocent enough he thought.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare." the girl broke her gaze and pinkened at being caught.

"Not at all. I am simply curious as to why." the situation was taking a turn Shino had not predicted. "It is not like you to be ashamed or fearful Ino-san. You trusted me before, you can trust me now."

"Um, I was just curious." the kunoichi continued to blush but resumed her eye contact. "When you put on your vest earlier...I have never seen you without your coat, and I was curious what you look like."

"I see." Shino nodded considering the situation. "It is customary for ninja to hide their identity and conceal their true appearance. My clan are all ninja and we learn from a very young age to keep our looks a secret. I have not seen my own father's whole face in months. I have never seen my grandfather without some type of concealment."

"Oh." the disappointment rang clear in her voice. "I understand. I apologize for my curiosity." the girl felt a tinge of sadness. She knew that her girlish curiosities and desires would have to take a back seat to her duty as a kunoichi, but she didn't have to like it.

"Do not apologize Ino-san. Being curious is not a fault." Shino replied, he then calculated before continuing. "You trusted me with your true feelings and motivations. I will return the trust. It is not entirely pleasant being hidden all the time. It is also not ideal not knowing members of your own family. I think since we will be working closely and I know I can trust you it would be beneficial for you to know what I look like."

"Shino-kun, are you saying you are going to show me your face?" the girl could not hide the excitement in her voice. "I promise I will never betray your confidence. We are partners from here out and you can trust me with anything, and I will trust you with my life."

The bug-user believed the girl's sentiment. He was somehow relieved that there would be someone with whom he could be open. This voyage would be worth it if he gained a true and trustworthy friend. "Yes Ino-san. I will show you my face. You must keep this between us, and never tell anyone that you know of my true appearance." Upon the girl's insisting nods Shino unzipped his jacket to his mid-chest. The girl gasped as the young ninja's face was revealed. A slow smile crossed her face. She stood and crossed the distance between them. Ino sat beside the boy. She reached up to his arm while leaning in close to his face. "Thank you." she whispered just millimeters from his ear. Ever so lightly her lips brushed his cheek before returning to a normal sitting position. The Aburame zipped his coat back to its previous position. He hoped the girl did not see his blush. The rest of the meal and evening was passed in a silence lit by young smiles.

**Thanks for reading. Another kinda short chapter. I'm thinking i'll do another training chapter soon. Is that played out or is it stylistic and interesting? Thanks again. More soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Naruto or any related characters.**

The world blinked out of existence. It blinked back and the pair of fresh chunnin found themselves in their recent underground home. Naruto looked around and was exceptionally pleased that his jutsu worked from so far away. He considered all the elements and his pleasure with his success only grew. He had safely transported Hinata and himself more that thirty miles. The exuberant blond was having a very good day all things considered. Hinata looked around and was exceptionally pleased herself. She found herself not only safely on the ground but she had fallen with her arms wrapped around Naruto. He was currently hovering on top of her seemingly oblivious to the inappropriate position in which they were situated. The shy former heiress was having a good day all things considered.

"Um, Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned quietly.

The boy looked down and realized their positioning. "Oh sorry Hinata-chan." He lifted himself off the young kunoichi. He found himself wanting to linger and stay close, but instead helped Hinata to her feet and again surveyed the results of the jutsu. "Wow I didn't know it worked from so far away and with a passenger."

Hinata caught Naruto's infectious smile. "It was really cool Naruto-kun."

"And it was easy, I just thought about the place I wanted to be at and here we are. I wonder how the clones were doing while I was gone? Lets go check." In his excitement Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and they ran together into the conference room.

The table was occupied with a dozen clones laboring intently on a small stack of scrolls. Behind each scribe stood another clone that rolled and prepared the scrolls and attached them to three-pronged kunai. The original observed the situation with a great smile on his face for a few moments. The potential use for this many seals was infinite.

"Naruto?" The girl asked still holding his hand. "Are all those kunai real?"

"Huh?" It suddenly dawned on the boy. He popped one of the clones preparing the special weapons and to his dismay the pile of work popped with him. The seals lay on the ground in a heap of curled papers. "I see. The seals stayed but the kunai are shadow kunai so they disappeared when the clone dispersed. We will need to actually make the kunai."

Naruto soon got another idea and hurried to the other room to investigate. He returned a moment later with a large summon scroll under one arm and a three-point kunai in the other hand. He smiled as he placed the scroll on the table hoping this little piece of treasure would win him some favor later. He continued with his intended project by taking one of the copied seals and comparing it to the one on the unique weapon. He found several stacks that contained errors and flaws that would render them useless. He discarded these and moved his attention to a growing pile that seemed to be intact replicas. He studiously compared and found many that were exact copies.

"Hinata-chan, I'm going to test this out. I figure we should do something useful while we wait for the others to get back." Naruto told his companion.

"Um, OK. I'll try to find a way to contact them." The nervous girl twittered her fingers while trying to find a solution to their current situation.

The duo split to pursue their individual goals. Hinata searched through their cache of resources trying to find an option for long distance communication. After a few moments her eyes settled on a possibility. She picked up a scroll and hurried to find Naruto to implement her idea.

"Naruto, I think I know how to contact Tsunade-sensei." She called as she passed into the training room. She found her long time crush leaping from one end of the room to the other. He bounced from one roll of paper on the ground to the next. There was no flash of light or other indication that a jutsu was being performed. Naruto was simply jumping from seal to seal like a child playing a playground game. The look of utter disappointment on his face nearly knocked the lavender-haired girl backward.

"Naruto-kun, what's the matter?" She asked, concerned "didn't it work."

"No." Naruto pouted. "I'll need ero-sennin to help me. The pattern is right but something is wrong with how I made them. None of them work."

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. Maybe we can contact Tsunade-sensei and get everything worked out." Hinata tried. She was still quite nervous about being out of contact with the others, and it showed even to the usually oblivious blond.

"Yeah you're right. What did you have in mind Hinata-chan?" Naruto couldn't bear the thought of his best friend being unhappy.

"We brought the falcon summoning scroll with us. If we can summon a falcon it could take a message to the others." The pale-eyed girl explained.

"That's a great idea. You're so smart Hinata-chan." He flashed a foxy grin at her. Hinata had gained some control over her cheeks in recent weeks but could not keep a solid blush from running through them when she met his grin.

Naruto unrolled the document and inspected the signatures. There were all the Hokage, many high level jounin, and an assortment of other names the pair did not recognize. Each teen nicked their fingers and signed in turn. Naruto then took a moment to show Hinata the hand signs for a summoning jutsu.

"It can be tricky the first few times to get the one you want. You have to figure out how much chakra to put into it to get the size you want. I'll go first." With that the boy ran through the handsigns and pushed a bloodied hand to the floor. A medium sized falcon appeared in a puff of smoke. "OK Hinata-chan, you try."

The girl did so, running through the same signs and putting a hand to the ground. In a puff a falcon appeared. It took flight and made the small hop from the ground to the awaiting arm of the Hyuuga. Where Naruto's falcon was a mix of dull browns and reds, Hinata's was smaller and an iridescent blue.

"How can we serve you?" Asked the smaller bird.

"Um, we need to send a message to Tsunade-sensei." The girl explained meekly.

"Hey why didn't he ask that?" Naruto complained pointing to the falcon still waiting on the ground.

"He does not speak. Summons are chosen not only by the amount of chakra that is used in the technique, but in the intent of the user. I am Tsukai. My job is to deliver messages. He is Kari. He is a hunter. It would seem that your intent was to communicate." The regal bird looked at Hinata. He inspected Naruto. "You on the other hand seemed to be hungry."

Naruto opened his mouth to deny the bird's theory, but as he did so his stomach let out a loud growl. He resigned himself to Tsukai's assessment. The four walked to the exterior of the base. Kari took flight as soon as he saw the light of day. Tsukai awaited his orders with the patience of a shinobi.

"Do you know where the falcon probed.

"She is near the castle of lord Kubisaki. We need to tell her we are safe and back at the base." Hinata informed him.

"They will have the message within the hour." With that the summon took to the wing and disappeared over the trees.

"Thank you." Called Hinata to the figure in the distant sky.

"Well do you want to eat and train a bit until they get back?" The ever-active boy queried.

The girl only smiled in response. She found no point of contention in staying with Naruto for the time it would take the elder kunoichi to return.

Though initially worried the three women were put at ease when they received word of where their young companions had ended up. They had seen to the safe return of the Lady and her escort and, unburdened by the students, rushed for home. It was nearer to dawn than dusk when they entered the underground head quarters. They deposited their gear and went to check on the youths. Shizune found Naruto cleaning and reading in two separate clone forms. Anko checked Hinata's room to find the boy asleep on a cot near the door and the girl cuddling a plush fox in happy unconsciousness. Tsunade found a sight that made her immensely proud. He entered the training area to find ten copies of Naruto generating Rasengan of various sizes and focused in different places. Some filled two hands some were tiny as marbles. A few floated between fingers one rested over the back of a hand, and one hovered slightly higher than was usual for the powerful technique.

"Naru-chan, what are you trying to do with this one?" The curious Sannin asked.

"I want it to float higher. I found out that I can control how close it is to my hand if I concentrate." The clone explained with a foxy grin. "I make it go up and down and have to focus or it will disappear. Now I want it to go higher. Isn't that cool?"

"Very cool. I have the feeling it's the start of something big. Just make sure you get rest too." She reminded, more grandmother than ninja sensei.

As she retired to her room a thought crossed Tsunade's mind. _He'll do things we never dreamed._

**Thanks for reading. Another short one, sorry. Check my profile for a challenge to all you creative people out there. Thanks again. More soon.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Naruto or any related characters.**

Jiraya returned to the camp a few hours later. He carried a tired look and was covered in dust. The young pair had not left their places next to each other. Not a word had been spoken since Ino's lips brushed Shino's cheek. They looked up to the disheveled Sannin.

"Sensei? What have you been up to?" Ino eyed the white-haired man suspiciously.

"Sometimes a spy needs information from sources he cant really talk to anymore. Sometimes you have to get a little dirty." Jiraya bore the suspicion and took on his teacher tone.

"And where did this particular dirt come from Jiraya-sensei?" Shino asked.

"I found a source and I had to visit his resting place." Jiraya explained.

"You robbed a grave!?!" Ino cringed against her teammate.

Shino nodded at the logic of the question. "was your source fruitful?" he asked accepting the morbid necessity.

"Fruitful indeed." the Sannin held up a torn and dirtied map. "We can report to Tsunade-hime that we know the location of the great Village Hidden in the Storm. Now I propose we get a good bath and some sleep. We will need to leave early in the morning."

"OK." Ino's mood brightened at the prospect of re leaving herself of the grime of travel. "Is there a hot spring nearby?"

The legendary pervert produced a map filled with markings and notes. "Why yes it seems there is a fine hot spring just ten miles from here." he giggled as he went on. "Its got great service and even multiple peep holes and angles for better viewing."

The young duo rolled there eyes at their drooling teacher. They gathered their things and took the run as a chakra building exercise. Each energy infused leap helped to build and strengthen their young chakra coils. Soon they were relaxing in the hot waters, and soon after that they were asked to leave by the management. They made their way back to camp with a bruised Jiraya in tow. The morning would witness their exodus from Fire Country.

...

the gathered group ate together as usual. The meal was filled with talk of the day's activities and plans for the upcoming days. The table was eventually cleared and the party disbursed to their individual training. The matriarch of the group was standing to leave when her grandson made his request.

"Obaa-chan? Can I ask you something?" the young blond held a deeply thoughtful expression.

"Of course Naru-kun. What is it?" the woman asked sitting herself back in her chair.

"Why didn't you tell me about Ojii-san?" It seemed to pain the boy to ask.

"Naru-kun, come with me I'll tell you about it." Tsunade rose and led the boy to her quarters.

The pair settled into comfortable seats and readied themselves for what could be a very uncomfortable conversation.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to revisit those memories. It was selfish of me, Naruto, and I hope you can forgive me. I'll tell you the whole story if you want." Tsunade began. She was met by a small quick nod. "we were young. We were just nineteen. We had been on the same team for years, and we trusted each other completely. We kept our relationship a secret, because Jiraya didn't want to bring down the name of Konoha's princess. I took a training mission when I was pregnant with your father, and Jiraya kept working, sometimes three or four missions at once so he could buy a house for me and the baby. The day Minato was born he was in the Land of Wind. He raced back just in time. Our son was perfect and something changed in Jiraya. Before he was always joking and goofing around, but when he saw his son it was a very different smile. He was serious and protective, but so happy he nearly glowed. Everything was great for a while. I was still on leave after your father was born, and Jiraya was doing missions closer to home. When your father was three he started playing with kunai. I was terrified. I thought he was going to cut a finger off. Your grandfather was thrilled, he started teaching him immediately. As Minato grew older Jiraya had to start doing harder and harder missions. He had to go further from the village every day, but he would still rush home, using up every ounce of his chakra in the process. Jiraya was there everyday to see his son. When Minato started the academy Jiraya walked him every morning. After he took Minato to school he went to do his missions. I was training medic-nin in anticipation of the upcoming war. It was really hard to have any time together. Its was like this for two years. Jiraya was there for Minato in everything, but we just faded away as a couple. One day I couldn't take the loneliness, I needed someone to be there for me, and I couldn't have the one I wanted. When he got home I told Jiraya that we were over. I kicked him out of the house. He still walked Minato to school and still trained him and spent every free minute with our son, but I didn't talk to him for months. I met a man named Dan, and he was supportive, and there for me, and he really helped me figure out what I wanted. Dan died in the second war. Just after the war ended Minato graduated from the academy and Jiraya took the jounin instructor job for his team. So for years Jiraya was there for our son but not for me. I needed more from him and he couldn't give that. It hurt so much to have my best friend die and my son off on missions, and the love of my life just had nothing to say to me. I left the village. When Minato made jounin Jiraya left too. We were wandering the earth and it was just never the same."

"I'm sorry Obaa-chan." the boy leaped from his seat to land on the woman's lap and wrap her up in a hug. "I'm sorry you were lonely. I'm sorry you couldn't be with Ojii-san. Maybe now you can. He's coming here, right?"

"Its not that easy Naru-kun. But now we can both be here for you. Even if we aren't together, you are what we care about now." she smiled and hugged the boy back.

...

Shino signaled the group to proceed ahead. His bugs had the location of a large underground space not far from the current location. The trio found the entrance and announced themselves. A moment later Shizune opened the door. The two groups met in full in the conference room.

Shino inclined his head politely to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama."

Hinata mirrored his gesture but directed at Jiraya. "Hokage-sama."

Ino followed Shino's lead and Naruto followed Hinata's. "Hokage-sama."

Jiraya laughed audibly but deferred to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama."

Tsunade swatted Shizune in the shoulder to follow her lead and the both gave a little bow. "Hokage-sama."

"well now that we're all done with that should we do something useful?" Tsunade eyed the legendary pervert. "We will rearrange the rooms and get settled in and everyone is to be in the conference room in one hour."

with that the assembled ninja went off to adjust the living arrangements in the underground base. It was decided that the two elders should have their own quarters. The kunoichi would double up in the remaining two rooms. Ino and Hinata in one and Anko and Shizune in the other. The boys would put out cots in the training area. The hour passed quickly, but with the army of clones all the work was easily finished.

The seven individuals gathered once again around the large table. The clones kept working, and training. Jiraya's group placed their treasures on the table and readied themselves to explain what it all was.

"I took another half of Konoha's financial assets. I have my entire advanced sealing library. I have multiple sets of the basic curriculum from the academy. Intermediate and advanced texts on elemental jutsu, and seven sets of full ANBU gear with advanced weapons options. Finally, I have a newly made Hokage hat." the Sannin removed the article from its scroll and sloppily tossed it atop his head. He motioned to Ino.

"Um, I brought three books on botany and one on horticulture. I grabbed some of my fathers books, I think they are on interrogation and information gathering. I have make-up, hair product, and clothes for disguises. And I have one big armful from the Uchiha library." The petite blond explained.

"how did you get into the Uchiha library?" Anko raised an eyebrow at the girl.

Ino didn't say anything, she just molded her hands into the sign for her family jutsu.

"I brought all the Aburame texts on insects, as well our taijutsu style, our clan techniques, and applications of all these things. I have on my person eleven queens that could start distinct colonies." Shino finished the group's inventory at Jiraya's prompting.

"Thank you, you two." Jiraya motioned to his students. "with the money and resources we have now we can easily provide for the eight of us."

"Agreed. But do you have the map I asked for?" Tsunade held a tired, annoyed tone with her former teammate.

Jiraya did not say anything. He removed the map from inside his red vest and laid it on the table. He smoothed the edges with his large hands and dropped a finger on the point he knew Arashigakure to be. Jiraya left the room with a light sigh. He was soon followed by Naruto, leaving the rest of the group to look over the map and their new inventory.

"Shizune, Anko. What do you think? Can we do this in two weeks time?" Tsunade inquired of her jounin team.

"Absolutely Tsunade-hime." Shizune bowed and went to work.

"What she said." Anko pointed to her fellow jounin and followed after her.

...

Naruto cautiously entered his grandfather's room. He found the old man drooling intently over a stack of photos.

"Ojii-san? Are you OK? You didn't seem to happy to see Obaa-chan." Naruto's face held genuine caring for the legendary pervert.

"I'm fine Naruto. I'm glad to see you. Have you been training?" Jiraya deflected the question with his own investigation.

"Oh yeah!" the boy shouted as he formed a Rasengan in each hand. "Obaa-chan has really helped me with my chakra control."

The Sannin's eyes widened. "That is amazing! Your father would be so proud of you. I know I am."

"Thank you Ojii-san." Naruto dropped the glowing orbs and bounced across the room to hug the old man.

"Now do you want to help me sort all these lovelies?" Jiraya asked eying the stack of scantily clad women.

...

The next morning the group assembled for breakfast. Tsunade seemed very content, as did the two jounin.

"The plan is laid out. Shizune sent out all the messages and got responses that will let us pass from here to the land of whirlpool unmolested." The former Hokage explained. "The map provided by our spy unit shows us exactly where to go, and Naruto will be enough proof against the seals protecting the village to let us enter it."

"What did I prove?" Naruto looked confused.

"No, you are proof against the seals. You are seal proof as far as The Village Hidden in the Storm is concerned." Shizune explained, receiving a pleased grin in response.

"I want everyone to review the plans and know your part of it. We will train until we leave. Everyone is to be ready in two weeks. Our first mission as Storm ninja is the infiltration and incorporation of Arashigakure." Tsunade handed out copies of the relevant information and dismissed the group to their training.

...

**Thanks for reading. This one is a little short, but its a good place to end it so i'll give you another one soon. Thanks everyone for your great reviews. I hope you keep enoying the story. Thanks again.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Naruto or any related characters.**

**As promised here is another chapter for all you fine readers. **

Day 1

Tsunade woke to a small rumble. She walked out in to the hall to find Hinata at the far end. The pale-eyed kunoichi was peeking into the training area. Tsunade joined her in peering into the open area.

"Good morning Tsunade-sensei." the girl greeted.

"What's going on?" the elder responded.

"Shino went out to look for bugs so Jiraya-sama and Naruto-kun are training." Hinata explained.

The pair watched as Naruto formed a massive Rasengan and launched it across the room. Naruto leaped in to the air shouting in excitement. Jiraya snickered. They high-fived at the ensuing explosion. The energetic duo discussed for a moment, then Hinata and Tsunade could hear them shout in unison. "Bigger!"

"You see Hinata-chan, boys are all about who's is bigger." Tsunade rolled her eyes and went about her daily tasks. Hinata watched for a while longer pondering the meaning in her teacher's words.

Day 2

"Come on Shino." Ino nearly dragged the boy behind her. "Let's learn a new jutsu."

Shino didn't falter in his stoic demeanor. The girl dragged him to the storage room where all the backpacks and their contents were strewn across the floor. Ino released the boy's hand as she dashed about the room looking for a suitable technique to learn. Shino explored the room lingering on the scrolls labeled "ANBU gear". Ino settled on a scroll that appeared ancient, adorned with the curling form of a lizard.

"What do you think it is Shino-kun?" Ino lifted the scroll to the boy's attention.

"It appears to be a summoning scroll." He noted. "I hope you do not plan to address me that way in other company."

"No Shino-kun. That is just for you and me." She teased. "Do you know how summoning scrolls work?"

"Yes I have read about summoning techniques. You need to sign the contract in blood and then use these seals." Shino demonstrated as Ino copied him.

A few moments later Ino gathered the courage to sign the contract. She did as Shino had shown her and completed the series of hand signs. She slapped the ground in front of her watching as the smoke of the summoning cleared. A purple lizard the length of the girls hand stood where she had intended.

"It worked. And its kinda cute." Ino puffed up at her success. Shino could not help but be impressed, not only by the technique but by Ino's lack of girlish timidity in the face of bugs and lizards.

Ino gently scooped the lizard into her hand. It shuffled up her arm to rest on her shoulder. The small lizard reached its body up to the girl's ear.

"Wow! He can talk. His name is Murasaki. This is so cool!" Ino shouted in excitement. She danced across the distance between herself and her partner, wrapping the boy in a hug. "Thanks for your help Shino-kun."

Shino checked that they were alone before he returned the embrace.

Day 3

_Tsunade is in the bath. This is my chance. _Jirayathought_. I'll just stroll in and pretend I didn't know she was there. If I apologize and rush out I wont get a beating and I can catch a good peek._

Jiraya set his plan in motion. He gathered his towel and soap and strode into the bathroom. He caught a glimpse of Tsunade's bare shoulder as she sat facing away from the door. He took another step all the while hoping for a better look. He tried to look innocent as he set his supplies down and turned to look at the busty blond directly. Just as he was about to catch an eye full the bathing woman disappeared in a puff of smoke. The real Tsunade appeared from behind the door, fully clothed, and lifted the pervy sage off his feet.

"If I have to remind you of that lesson all those years ago I will. Now stay out!" Tsunade scolded as she tossed the large man on his rump into the hallway.

_Next time I send a shadow clone in first. He can take the beating while I get the goods. _Jiraya snickered having learned nothing from his experiences.

Day 4

Hinata stood panting in the middle of the training ground. She had been studying jyuuken techniques her entire life but still couldn't match her sister, or her cousin. _Why didn't she pick up the subtleties like they did? Why didn't it work for her?_

"What's up Hinata-chan?" Naruto broke her contemplations.

"I'm trying to get the jyuuken down. Its very demanding." Hinata humbly stated.

"But its so cool!" Naruto smiled at her. The girl's spirit lifted immediately. "Byakugan, and a whole set of family techniques. You couldn't ask for much more than that."

"I could ask for a teacher. Hyuuga techniques are nearly impossible to learn from the text." She countered. Naruto picked up the book, flipping through the pages.

"Wow! Cool seal!" Naruto pointed out. "What does it do?"

Hinata took the book. She had never put much thought in the seal. On close inspection the symbol in the center of the seal was the one for eye. "Naruto this means eye. How would this seal work?"

"Um, the one in the center of a seal is either the main function of the seal or the main key to activating it. Like a storage scroll had the symbol for energy in the center, so if you put energy into it it activates."

Hinata considered this information. She activated her flawless vision and gazed on the seal again. When her vision met the seal the book seemed to crawl with new text. The standard instructions were washed out with new writing.

"Naruto-kun! The text is different. Its infused with chakra. These instructions are much better too." Hinata smiled at the boy and turned with a blush back to her training.

_Chakra infused writing? I'm glad Hinata-chan is happy. She's cute when she's happy. _Naruto thought as he left the girl to her improved jyuuken training.

Day 5

"This may be uncomfortable to talk about but it is important for a kunoichi to know." Shizune began in a professional manner. "The arts of seduction, and the employment of femininity is often important for kunoichi. Anko-san and I will teach you how to use being a female to your advantage."

"Yeah. You can turn men to butter. Break the hardest prisoner, get the most guarded information, and be invited into places an army couldn't fight into with just a little skin." Anko grinned at the girls.

Hinata's expression was horrified. Ino's was interested.

...

"This may be uncomfortable to talk about, but its important to know." Jiraya began in a professional tone. "Kunoichi will try to seduce you, or use their femininity to get something from you. They will use being female to their advantage."

"And what do we do when they try that!" Naruto asked hoping for a good defense for both him and his silent companion, Shino.

"Its important you keep a clear head and concentrate on the details so when they succeed you can at least tell me about it for my books." Jiraya stated without breaking his serious expression.

"There is no defense?" Shino questioned.

"There might be but its more fun to just let them take advantage." The legendary pervert smiled. His nose started to bleed with the memories running through his mind.

Day 6

Shizune entered her mentor's quarters ready for her daily report. She carried a file on each of the young shinobi and her faithful pet pig.

"Shizune, what is new today?" The former Hokage asked.

"It has been a very good day Tsunade-sensei. Hinata is continuing to advance rapidly, she completed a simulation genjutsu flawlessly today. Shino is very studious and a single lesson. I am pleasantly surprised at Ino. She is not what I expected from the rumors and reports back in Konoha. She seems very motivated and already has excellent chakra control. All in all they are the best bunch I have ever seen considering the short time frame." Shizune took great pride in her report, though only let a little of it show on her face. "And how is Naruto doing if I may ask sensei?"

The elder woman chuckled. "It's amazing. He has figured out how to make clones that are already damaged or opened up. His control is improving at exponential speeds. He can replicate the interior of a body. He still needs to drill a lot to get his lessons down, but he is always willing to work at it. He spent three hours reviving fish today. I started him with one and once he figured out how to do it he went and caught ten more and just jumped from one to the other reviving them in sequence." Tsunade beamed in grandmotherly pride.

Day 7

"Alright you two. We are going to do an infiltration exercise. I am going to my quarters and I'm going to write a series of numbers on a piece of paper. You need to get passed me and get those numbers. Simple enough?" the spy master addressed his students.

Both Ino and Shino nodded and retreated to allow the game to be set up. They reconvened at the far end of the hall. The teens huddled together discussing a plan to enter the room. A moment later Jiraya entered the hall again and the plotting pair split.

Jiraya was momentarily blinded by a cloud of black insects. He exhaled a small wind jutsu scattering them harmlessly. _My students have to do better than that._ He thought. Shino bust from the his hiding place in a mass of insects on the ground. He launched two punches to his master's face and was deflected with ease. He started to tumble backward, but managed to swing a foot forward to his teacher's midsection. This too was blocked, but the momentum corrected Shino's fall putting him back on the ground in a crouch instead of a slump.

"A spy only uses direct confrontation when absolutely necessary." The Sannin lectured.

Shino raised an arm to send another cloud of bugs at his teacher. Jiraya again countered with a harmless wind jutsu. The elder man stepped toward the offending bug-user to find him crouching not on the floor, but on the wall. Shino used his angle to fly directly at the stomach of the older man. As Shino pushed his legs to their full extension Jiraya stepped out of the way placing a deflecting hand on the boy's shoulder. As planned Shino tumbled through his teacher's door into his desired destination. Jiraya wheeled to find the boy standing mere feet from the objective. _Better than I thought._ The teacher smirked.

The white-haired Sannin closed the distance and tangled a large hand in the boy's coat. Before he could toss the boy back through the door Shino scattered into a horde of black bugs. Jiraya again turned to find his student. He found Shino escaping down the hall with a shimmering outline of Ino in tow. He pursued to the end of the hall catching the retreating pair before they reached the training area. Shino spun around toward the oncoming Sannin as his body was enveloped in a puff of smoke. The smoke cleared a second later to reveal an unclad woman beckoning to the legendary pervert. Jiraya's nose began to bleed and he fell to the floor immediately. The cause for Jiraya's incapacitation dissolved in to a mass of insects and the teens continued their retreat.

Ino eyed Shino and giggled. "Do you have the numbers?" Shino asked getting an affirmative response. "Then not a word." Ino continued to giggle.

Day 8

"A-Anko-sensei?" Hinata peered around her teacher's door. Since leaving Konoha she had grown a lot in confidence and as such, had lost much of her speech impediment, but there was something about the snake mistress that still made her a little nervous.

"Hinata-chan, what can I do to you?" The jounin asked teasingly.

"Um, I need help with something." Hinata stared at the ground and tapped her index fingers together intently.

"I gathered that from you standing in my door. Don't be shy Hinata what do you need?" Still getting no response Anko reassured the girl. "You know I talk tough and say a lot of things that make you uncomfortable, but I would do anything to help you, any of you, and I am always on your side. So tell me what's up Hinata-chan?"

"I-I want to spend time with Naruto, but we can't leave here alone." Hinata started

"So you want me to be your chaperon into town?" Anko grinned as she confirmed the girl's request.

Hinata raised her head to look her teacher in the eye. She built her resolve to an eruptive force. The timid girl gathered all of her will into a sharp nod, bowed and then returned her stare to the floor.

"OK. Grab your stuff let's go." Anko shrugged.

A moment later Naruto joined the two kunoichi at the entrance to their headquarters. He had been summoned by Anko and was ready for any excuse to leave the shelter for a while.

"Naruto, how many sets of clothes do you have?" Anko inquired.

"Um, just one. I wash it every night while I sleep." Naruto answered.

"Clones? OK well we need to get you more. Hinata-chan and I are going to help you pick stuff out. Ready?" Anko didn't wait for the response to lead the two young chunnin out and toward town.

Along the way Hinata chatted quietly with Naruto. Naruto was more than happy talking to Hinata, but his appetite for new things demanded that he create clones every couple of minutes to run into the surrounding area and train or explore. Anko was attempting a technique she had seen Kakashi use many times, walking and reading from a little orange book at the same time, it was proving difficult. The trio arrived in town and were directed to a suitable vendor by the friendly folk of the small community.

"How about this one?" Naruto held up a high collared black cape with red lining.

"No." Anko's answer held no room for rebuttal.

"Or this." the boy presented a hefty green backplate. It was green and held a deep curve over its oval shape. The front was tan and seemed to be made of eight square sections. It was adorned with a cloth eye mask resting atop the hanger. "The shell part is always green, but the mask comes in purple, or blue, or red, even orange."

"Unequivocally no." Anko informed him.

Hinata was quiet through the selection process. After a bevy of misses she approached the clerk and whispered something in his ear. The man picked through his wares for a moment and then scurried into a back room. A few minutes later he reappeared, unnoticed by the arguing snake mistress and prankster. He spoke softly to Hinata and handed her the requested items.

"Naruto-kun, do you like this one?" The pale-eyed girl held a garment out to the boy. He looked it over. He turned it front and back inspecting every angle. He looked up at Anko for approval, then back at Hinata. He removed his coat and replaced it with the new one.

"This is the coolest, best thing I have ever seen! Thank you Hinata-chan!" Naruto nearly shouted. His new coat went past his knees. It was dark orange with a red-orange fringe from collar to hem. The bottom was decorated with black flames. It was a nearly perfect inversion of his father's trademark style.

Hinata was thrilled when Naruto hugged her in his excitement. She nearly fainted when he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. She secretly glowed in happiness when he forgot his old jacket. She picked up the garment from where Naruto had laid it. She removed her own jacket and folded it neatly into her backpack before replacing it with the vibrant orange one.

Day 9

"You are really good at this Ino-chan." Naruto encouraged.

"Thanks for the help." the girl returned.

"I think you are a good match with this summon. They already work with you willingly, and are giving you techniques. I had to impress Boss Toad before anything like that happened." Naruto compared achievements with his fellow blond. His jealousy was only momentary, and his encouragement was genuine.

"Yeah, Murasaki-kun is shy but is full of good training tips. What I really need to work on is summoning a boss level chameleon. They hate it when I call them lizards." Ino chuckled at the last part.

"OK we can work on that. I think I'll summon Katsuyu. Boss Toad gets grumpy if its not an emergency." with that Naruto instructed Ino how to expand her chakra output like a balloon so that she could summon something large. The pair formed their hand signs slowly and deliberately. They placed their hands to the ground and watched as similar clouds of smoke enveloped the area.

"Katsuyu-sama, thank you for your help." Naruto addressed the slug-queen as he had been instructed.

The second cloud dispersed to reveal pale-green scales, three-toed feet and a head adorned with swiveling eyes and three great horns.

"I am Shiromari, the invisible lord. Who summons me!" The gigantic reptile demanded.

"I am Yamanaka Ino." the girl bowed to the boss summon.

"I see. My progeny speak of you." The booming voice softened in consideration of the new situation.

"This is already going better than my first meeting with Boss Toad." Naruto whispered to his fellow blond. She didn't take her eyes off the great chameleon in front of her.

"I am honored Shiromari-sama. I will do all in my power to be worthy of your companionship." She bowed again.

"Then you will have it when you need it. For now let me rest. I am still not fully recovered from my long mission." Shiromari informed.

Ino dismissed the jutsu. The ensuing cloud of smoke obscured her fall. She was drained from the massive use of chakra. Naruto didn't notice the figure wearing a heavy coat pick her up and return her to the shelter. He assumed Ino had gone off to train, and he did the same, dashing into the woods to practice with the slug-queen.

Day 10

Shino sat at the table and sipped his tea slowly. Hinata sat across from him enjoying the quiet company. Having been teammates for so long the two got along very well. They had even created a game that helped them train in their unique bloodlines. Shino would send out a group of kikai to spell out a message in another room. Hinata would use her Byakugan to read the message back and count the bugs. Then Hinata would dictate and check as Shino spelled out a response.

They were engaged in the game for about half and hour when Hinata noticed a pattern to the words her teammate was producing.

_Spy. Partner. Loud. Gossip. Flower. _

"Um Shino? Do you like..." Hinata started.

"Not a word." Shino was careful to keep his tone serious but not threatening. He was glad Hinata had figured it out, but didn't want it going any farther than that. "Please." the rest of the game passed in comfortable quiet.

Day 11

Jiraya rose from his bed, unusually restless. It was very late but he couldn't quiet his mind enough to fall asleep. He exited his quarters and made for the kitchen, hoping a snack would help. He peered across through the cracked door of his former teammate. She was scribbling something with her right hand while focusing chakra with her left. Proceeding down the hall he overheard Anko and Shizune discussing poisons, Anko cursing occasionally. As his vision adjusted to the darkness of the hall he found Ino in the storage room sitting cross-legged, engrossed in a manual on tonfa. The Sannin rolled his eyes and kept going to his desired end. He passed the room the girls shared and felt surges of chakra. He assumed Hinata was training. Jiraya entered the conference room and cut across it toward the kitchen. The open wall overlooking the training area gave him a peek at Shino completing katas armed with tonfa. The Sannin made himself a small plate and made to return to his quarters. As he drew closer to the entrance of the shelter he felt more surges of chakra. He poked a head out to witness something he could barely believe.

Naruto sat with his feet crossed over his legs, back straight, palms pressed together before his chest. Around the form of the meditating boy revolved four Rasengan orbs like fist-sized planets. Naruto was the center of a small Rasengan solar-system.

_He's going to do things we never dreamed. _The proud grandfather thought. _Bunch of freaks I got myself in with. _He added as he returned to the shelter.

Day 12

"Ojii-san! Teach me something!" Naruto burst through the door.

Jiraya sat at his desk furiously scrawling notes. He giggled every few seconds. He looked up as the energetic boy bounced into his line of sight.

"What do you want to learn?" The elder asked appreciating Naruto's enthusiasm.

Naruto considered for a moment. He looked over the stack of papers on the desk. His eyes picked up the stack of photos, the lude notes, the evidence of pervy nature everywhere.

"Why do you chase girls and act pervy all the time?" Naruto piped up after his internal deliberation.

"Because I can't have the one I really want." Jiraya mumbled tiredly.

"OK way over my head. Tell me about seals instead." Naruto's infectious smile spread to the Sannin.

Day 13

"I want status from everyone. We are leaving first thing in the morning." Tsunade informed her assembled group.

"All the supplies are packed into scrolls. We can divide them between us to keep carry weight down. I'll finish with the furniture and bedding as soon as everyone is up tomorrow." Jiraya kept his tone professional.

"Teams will be Naruto and Hinata, Ino and Shino, Myself and Shizune, and Jiraya-sama and Tsunade-sama. Everyone has been training in team tactics and we will outfit as necessary during the trip." Anko put in her portion.

"The trip is a little less then three days. We will rotate by teams as far as cooking and setting camp. I'll keep light study material close at hand so we can keep sharp during the trip." Shizune concluded in her practical way.

"Good. And you four? Ready to go?" Tsunade turned her attention to the chunnin.

All but Naruto nodded reassuringly. Tsunade questioned the unusual behavior of her grandson. Suddenly the boy looked up, without warning the room filled with countless pairs of blue eyes.

"We are ready!" They shouted in unison.

"Ah, them." Anko nodded.

Day 14

The underground base that once housed a laboratory for forbidden experiments, a training ground for two Hokage, and a temporary home for Konoha's lost citizens once again laid empty and silent.

**Thank you for reading. At the time I am posting this chapter I have 97 reviews. I am tickled pink with that. I really, honestly appreciate everyone who has read this and every review. I think this chapter is kinda cool. little peeks into everyone, and how they are progressing. If this style gets boring please let me know. More soon. **


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own Naruto or any related characters.**

The group made their way through the wooded lands of The Land of Fire. They headed north. They would pass territory controlled by the Hidden Waterfall, and The Hidden Sound. They chatted and enjoyed the companionship of the trek. Elders instructed their students, peers compared and complimented each other's strengths, and teen-aged eyes met and remet throughout the journey.

Late in the second day the group determined their proximity to their goal and broke into their assigned roles. Shino and Ino were sent forward to scout and gather relevant intelligence. Anko and Shizune were dispatched to secure a forward post. The former Hokage disappeared to make their own preparations, and Naruto and Hinata were left to study and set the groups camp for the night.

The group reassembled around a late meal. "What have you got for us spy team?" Jiraya asked of his new apprentices.

"Heavy movement in the village on the banks of a large lake. It seems a ninja force from Iwa has occupied this area and is imposing martial law." Shino informed.

"The town's people are willing to switch sides. They have no love for Iwa, but at the moment they have no way to fight them either." Ino added.

"How many?" Anko asked.

"A hundred. All chunnin and above." Ino recounted to the dismay of the assembled listeners.

"We have two Sannin. That should be plenty to handle some Iwa punks. Right?" Naruto looked expectantly at his grandparents.

"It should." Jiraya responded. "And its possible just our reputation will be enough to diminish the force."

"OK I want game plans." Tsunade prompted.

"We send in Naruto. A few hundred Naruto. Then we pull big summons to funnel the Iwa-nin toward forces on the ground. Stick with wind, and water jutsu to minimize damage to the surrounding buildings and land. No point liberating a village if you burn it to the ground in the process." Anko posited.

"I agree. We can also cover part of the village in sleeping gas. We get a few civilians out of the way and get a few captives to use in bargaining with Iwa." Shizune supplemented.

"I like it. And if they don't filter out like we hope Katsuyu can split and spit, driving them one way or another with a little acid. For now set a watch and anybody with a free hand help Shizune put together sleeping pellets." Tsunade set the group in motion. She took Jiraya to one side to coordinate their roles for the morning.

...

Morning came with a deep red glow in the east, and the sound of a building storm. The group assembled at a forward post overlooking the village. Eight ninja stood to face a hundred. They took in the morning air shoulder to shoulder. Naruto looked left to Hinata, Ino and Shino and gave Hinata a reassuring smile. He looked right to the two jounin, Shizune gave him a thumbs up while Anko rechecked her protective gear. He looked past the jounin to his grandfather who winked at him. His eyes rested finally on his grandmother, the princess of the Senju, the Hokage. She nodded and he formed a thousand clones.

The clones rushed the village. Sounds of fighting filled the once still morning. Naruto stood watching the action. He turned a moment into the clash with a look of shock and horror on his face.

"The Iwa-nin were not alone. They have a bigger force coming through tunnels. And there are Rain-nin here too." the boy took in the shocked expression on the faces of his companions.

"OK game on. Anko Shizune go hit them with the sleep pellets as fast as possible. Ino Shino stay together no matter what but I need you to find the tunnel. Get to me or Jiraya as soon as you have it. Hinata stay with Naruto, I want you two there in that open area." Tsunade pointed down to an abandoned market square. "draw the fight to you. Keep the attention there. We fall back on you if something goes wrong. Jiraya you know what to do. Everyone, you are my family. Stay safe." with that each shinobi jumped off to their assigned task.

...

Anko and Shizune took to the roof tops. The area with the most clatter was the first target. They dodged kunai as they hurled pellets into occupied houses and stores. Anko took a kunai in each hand covering Shizune's torrent of smoking pellets and needles. Shizune pressed her back to Anko's. She took target after target with shuriken and needles while Anko was pressed at close range. The two covered a quarter of the village before exhausting their supply of sleeping gas. They took to the roofs again. They made their way toward the spot they knew Naruto and Hinata were fighting. The two kunoichi made it only half way before they were bogged down by a horde of Iwa-nin and breather-clad Rain-nin.

...

"Wait here. I'll go invisible and check." Ino told her partner motioning to the nearest building.

"Not a chance. I'll check the buildings with kikai. Go invisible and be ready to intercept close-range fighters cooing our way." Shino rebuked her notion of splitting up.

"Ahhh! Shino-kun! You really do care." the girl teased. She summoned a chameleon. The small purple reptile perched on her shoulder and inch by inch the girl faded to a transparent outline of herself.

The pair skulked from building to building. Every minute or so Shino would give the signal that the buildings did not contain their objective. He marked buildings as clear or not clear and they proceeded forward. After scouring the village the pair landed on top of a building in the western part of the village. Shino sent his swarms out to investigate and upon their return informed Ino they were in the right place.

The elation of competing a mission was cut short. Shino turned to locate his invisible companion. As he adjusted his view a kunai came into focus. Its trajectory was unmistakably accurate. The sharp point flew for his heart. Shino blinked and felt a heavy push into his chest.

Shino looked down at his arms. They were covered in blood. His heart screamed, but here was not break in his skin. He realized Ino had stepped in front of the kunai. He lowered her body to the rooftop. He hadn't even realized that he had caught her. He found the offending ninja. They stood on the next roof. Two males and a female. The female was Ino's size, short dark hair, a green sash around her middle. One of the males was blond with glasses and a dark cloak. The other had a beard and dark hair, with similar clothes.

"We are the Kamizuru. Its important that you know that, seeing as your clan wiped out most of ours." the female announced.

"Its not important, because you are all dead." Shino adjusted his glasses, then released a cloud of beetles that blacked out the sky.

..

Jiraya flew through the village at monstrous speeds. He announced himself wherever possible. Most of the Iwa-nin ran, but the Rain-nin seemed determined to fight. He did his best to incapacitate as many as possible. Gamahiro stood ready outside the village, occasionally redirecting retreating ninja in the desired direction.

Jiraya was tasked with civilian protection. He ran furiously from house to house battling incoming ninja and ferrying innocents to safer places. He wished he had the reserves to be in two places at once. He worried over the jounin, he was having a hard time with his end and could only imagine the attention those two attracted. He worried over his new apprentices, they knew enough to avoid a battle with multiple enemies but they were still very green. He worried over Tsunade, he knew she could handle herself but he worried anyhow. Mostly he worried over Naruto. The boy was a legion, but even legions fall and a grandfather is a grandfather even to a ninja.

...

Tsunade was cutting supply lines. The retreating ninja were allowed to go but no more came over land. Communication was one way. She couldn't let more forces to surround them and turn an offensive into a back-to-the-wall scenario. She was wondering where the intel on the tunnel was when a frightening sight caught her eye. On the lake, coming for shore, was a ship. She knew without having to see the vessel that it was filled with Rain-nin. This was not as much of a surprise attack as they had hoped.

The Sannin divided her efforts. She left Katsuyu to hold off attacks from land while she went to deal with the incoming ship. _I could really use Shizune right about now. I hope Naruto is OK._ She mused as she split her front.

...

Naruto stood in the square taking comers from all directions. Hinata was in a defensive pattern using an impressive boost in her jyuuken skill to keep the original Naruto safe from those that broke his lines. The Iwa-nin fought him with some grudge he didn't understand. Th forces from Rain were well trained and very calculated. Both enemies pushed forward with a host that felt as endless as Naruto's own. The number of clones was unheard of in the ninja world. But even with his sea of chakra, Naruto could not make a Rasengan for each, nor could any of the constructs take more than one hit. The teeth of the Iwa war dogs were closing on the abandoned market.

Naruto surveyed the scene around him. He was pressed from the streets and roofs. He wasn't sure when to unleash his arsenal of Rasengan, and Hinata wouldn't last as long as he would.

_I have to figure something out. I wish somebody would come. I wish Obaa-san was here. I wish Ojii-san was here. I need to do something. I need to get Hinata out of here. Hinata? She has improved so much since she figured out the Hyuuga manual. There is something I'm missing. Hyuuga manual. Ojii-san. Rasengan. Wait! I've got it._

Naruto shouted above the din of the fighting. He pointed several clones to nearby houses. He had his answer.

_I'm gonna do something they never dreamed._

...

Shino's bugs descended on the trio before him. As the beetles attached the bodies fell and crumbled into piles of bee's wax. Shino gathered his senses and searched again for the trio. He spotted the blond crouched next to the eves to his right. The large man was directly in front of him also below the roof line. The female was gone. Shino summoned a swarm of flesh-eating bugs and sent them to wait behind him in the alley. He readied a group of defensive bugs at his feet and prepared a small batch of his most potent chakra-eating kikai.

The blond leaped from his hiding spot. He crossed in a large arc from Shino's right to his left. In the middle of his flight the man released a small cloud of bees armed with paper bombs. Shino raised his wall, deflecting the bulk of the blast, but being thrown backward in the process. As he came to a stop Shino produced a pair of tonfa from his jacket and began blocking the bearded man who had charged in Shino's moment of weakness. The larger man fought only a moment before dispersing into a group of bees. The swarm launch its Thousand Stinger technique, riddling Shino with venomous barbs. Shino absorbed the assault and then popped into a cloud of insects himself. The real Shino reformed behind the bearded man and managed two blows with the tonfa before the man could turn.

"You are done." Shino raised the weapons, which scattered, revealing they were made of chakra-eating kikai. The bearded man raised his arms to fight, but succumbed to chakra exhaustion and fell into unconsciousness.

The blond man charged madly at Shino. Shino was aware that this man had no time to set a trap, nor could he match the kikai in a frontal assault. Shino simply moved to the side and placed a kick at the right instant, sending the man off the roof into the alley full of flesh-eating bugs. The second Kamizuru was rolled after him. Shino returned to Ino's still invisible form to begin applying medical aid. He bent to the wound and began spraying it with antiseptic. Shino was engrossed in his labors and did not notice when a giant bee rose above the roof.

The last Kamizuru sat astride the malicious beast. She was furious. Usually she would have set up a hive and driven the fight to her advantage, but the hasty assault by Iwa demanded that she make do. Now with two of her clansmen dead she summoned her most powerful vengeance. Unfortunately for her, so did Ino. Shiromari lashed his sticky invisible tongue and caught the flying creature. In an instant the last Kamizuru and their great summoning technique were gone.

"Ino, are you alright?" Shino asked. She was becoming visible again. Murasaki popped into a small puff of smoke near the girl's ear.

"Shino-kun. I'm really tired." The girl looked up at him.

"The kunai hit your clavicle. It didn't break, but you lost some blood. You used all your chakra, and you saved my life. We are going for help now Ino-chan." Shino broke his usual monotone for a single word.

"I hope you don't plan to address me that way in other company." The blond teased.

"No, its just for you and me." Shino scooped the girl up and headed for the rendezvous point.

...

Shino dropped from the roof. Hinata rushed to Ino to tend her wounds and chakra exhaustion. Anko and Shizune came a moment later. Both were riddled with minor injuries. Jiraya dropped into the midst of the group. This last member was all Naruto needed. He had news of the ship approaching, and clones that had made it to the rooftops gave him insight into the overwhelming fights of his companions. He had gathered the necessary supplies from nearby houses and figured he had enough.

"Anko, Shizune, I need a path to that building." Naruto shouted, pointing at the tallest building in the square.

The jounin wasted no time in rushing back to the thick of combat and making a path. Jiraya completed a similar mission to the other side of the square. In five minutes there were clones working on all the nearby buildings. Naruto took his own coat and went to work on that as well. With the preparations complete Naruto focused for the attack.

"I am Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. I will be the greatest ninja to ever live. I am the new Flying Thunder God!" Naruto shouted. The Iwa ninja cringed. The Rain-nin scoffed. Everyone turned their eyes to the boy.

Naruto had roughly a hundred clones scattered throughout the square and surrounding area. In a great orange flash they all disappeared. They reappeared a moment later and attacked. The enemy ninja looked around as their opponents vanished and popped back up. Naruto's teammates noticed the seals painted on every building, on the streets, and the one that floated on a make-shift kite above their heads.

The clones flashed away from incoming blows. Rasengan tore through defenses all around the stunned former Leaf-nin. The shadow clones didn't need to be replaced so Naruto put all his efforts into the glowing chakra orbs. Most of the Iwa-nin retreated at the sight of the working Hiraishin. The Rain-nin stood their ground, and fell to the legion of rushing Naruto.

A full retreat was called and the land battle died out with little more action. The ship looming over the lake was still a problem.

"Ojii-san, can you blow that kite over the ship?" Naruto asked, pointing to his coat, adorned with the chakra infused seal. He was very glad in that moment he had paid attention to Shikamaru's trick at the chunnin exams.

"No problem." Jiraya signed a wind jutsu and blew the kite in the appropriate direction.

The ship steamed for the shore. It was met by Tsunade running across the surface of the lake. She leaped aboard and began fighting. This ship, however, was full of jounin. Tsunade could keep herself from taking damage, but had no opening to do more than that. She used her titanic strength to pound the enemy back, but in the close quarters of the ship she could not dodge or evade to get an advantage.

The kite did its job. It drifted on a focused wind over the deck of the vessel. In an orange flash, Naruto appeared falling to the deck. The shocked Rain-nin didn't notice the clone that dropped after him, or the flash that signaled the disappearance of the Sannin. They only watched in awe as the boy standing in the midst of their most fierce jounin was orbited by Rasengan. The circling orbs drilled into the hull of the ship, they spun into men, and they countered attempts to rush the boy.

...

Naruto stumbled as his feet found solid ground again. His companions hurried to his aid. Tsunade caught him before he fell face first to the stone street. Naruto's body displayed cuts and bruises. His clothes were burnt shredded and dirtied beyond repair. Despite his obvious fatigue Naruto smiled up at his family.

"I got it. I figured out my father's jutsu." The smiling boy declared before giving in to his growing desire to sleep.

...

**Thanks for reading. Sorry its been such a long time folks. Hope you like it. **


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto awoke in a bed. This was unusual for him these days. He stood and began wandering to find his teammates. He surveyed the room and the hall outside of it, and determined he was in a hotel. He followed the sound of talking down to the first floor. He was thrilled to find all of his companions clean bandaged and eating.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata was the first to notice his entrance.

"Naruto-kun, you slept for a whole day. I'm glad you're alright." Tsunade stood and embraced the boy.

No sooner had Tsunade released him than Jiraya wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Great job boy. We have never seen anything like that before. You are going to be the greatest for sure." He declared with the pride of a grandfather.

Naruto sat at the table and helped himself to copious amounts of food. The group discussed their successes and trials. Anko and Shizune had taken on fifty chunin and four jounin. Ino and Shino had eliminated the threat of the Kamizuru clan and helped stem the tide coming from the tunnel. Tsunade was disappointed in herself. She left to handle the ship, but was caught by their greater numbers. Meanwhile Katsuyu had found the tunnel on the other side and secured it. Jiraya had ensured that civilian casualties were limited to broken bones and minor burns. The village was so grateful that they offered a boat to help the group get to Arashi.

The party stitched together their stories to recount to Naruto the extent of his triumph. The ship held fifty jounin. He had not only kept them from landing, but eliminated half, forced another dozen to retreat and the last few to surrender. The bounty for these captured ninja would go to rebuild the village and aid in its future defense. The final total of enemies had numbered almost three hundred.

...

Once Naruto's appetite was satiated and the group had gathered their belongings they headed for the dock. A kindly man led them to their small craft and once they were in helped them untie and shove off. Jiraya paddled the craft out onto the huge lake. In the center of the body of water a great storm raged endlessly. The adventurers drew closer wondering how they would bypass the choppy waters. Naruto was the only one that did not notice Hinata had not let go of his hand since leaving the hotel.

The lake seemed to have two faces. One was the picture of calm, the other was dark clouded, rough, and impassable with the storm. The group drew to the edge of the storm and stopped. The tiny craft would not last in the storm.

"I would bet a Hokage hat that it's sealed to the blood of Arashi." Tsunade declared. She was met with nods all around.

Without warning Anko smashed a fist into Naruto's nose. The boy grabbed his face, moving Hinata's hand for the first time since leaving the hotel. "Owwww. What was that for?" The boy demanded.

"I like your thinking." Jiraya added. "Though I would have done it like this." The legendary pervert produced a magazine from his vest and opened a page a few inches from the boys face. Naruto flinched at first, but then just rolled his eyes.

"What are you crazy people doing? I don't get what you want. Just tell me and I'll give it to you, but right now you are weirding me out." The confused Naruto questioned.

"You have the right idea." Ino interjected, nodding to her spy teacher. "I think you have the wrong skin though." With that Ino grabbed Hinata from behind and proceeded to unzip Naruto's jacket, which the girl had not taken off except to bathe since she first put it on. Ino slid the zipper down slowly and leaned the girl in front of her toward the blond boy. Naruto turned a shade of red that Hinata herself had displayed many times. Hinata blushed a brand new shade of crimson and fainted in her friend's arms.

"Oh for the love of... Naruto, cut your finger." A fed up Tsunade handed the boy a kunai.

Naruto nicked his finger and on his grandmother's order held the bloodied digit out to the storm. The fury abated and an avenue became clear. The storm continued to swirl on either side of the small craft, but the rivulet of calm allowed easy passage. They paddled for a few minutes until through a break in the rain and mist their goal revealed itself.

The Village Hidden in the Storm was built in a pattern that imitated the arms of a hurricane. Two long arms wrapped around a circular center mass. Each arm contained low buildings and a dock. The arms grew from a narrow point at the ends out to wider swaths closer to the center of the village. The buildings changed from storage facilities and basic production grounds to shops, inns, and businesses. Further in estates and other private housing swirled ever closer to the eye of the city. In the very center a round building drew all eyes its direction. It's stood above the water on for mighty quarter-circle supports. It was seven or eight stories tall with sky-blue walls reaching up to its pure white cap. The top of the building was a sphere of glass. There were no girders or reinforcements, only a perfect ball looking in every direction.

The group made their way to this central edifice. As the only residents of Arashi they would take if finest accommodations. The blonds stormed the building in excitement. Anko and Shizune calmly took to the surrounding roofs and double checked for danger. Jiraya walked behind the trio of blonds and took note of the layout of the building. Shino followed his teacher's example and inspected his surroundings with his usual reserve. Hinata was dragged behind Naruto as he ran from room to room and up stairs. She had no time for her nervousness to kick in, as she was as the whim of Akashi's last son.

"Ok have you all found a room?" Tsunade asked once the party had reassembled after their explorations.

"Yeah! A cool one. It's got a kitchen in it. I can see the lake form the windows and there was a training dummy in there already." Naruto enthused.

"Great." Tsunade motioned the boy toward a chair. "Now we need to figure out how we will get missions, and we should make contact with Konoha to let your parents know you are safe."

"And I found this room that's like a giant glass ball! You can see everything. It's like you are the center of the storm." Naruto continued in his excited rant.

"That's great Naruto." Tsunade eased the boy back to his chair.

"I bet my dad is worried." Ino was suddenly thoughtful.

"I'll start putting word through my contacts that we are open for business." Jiraya added.

"I found one room that was like a library. Its was huge! I think they were all jutsu. I can't wait to go learn some new powerful jutsu." Naruto's happiness continued to bubble.

"Fantastic Naruto." Tsunade rolled her eyes as she pushed the boy back to a sitting position.

"We still have a couple of missions we liberated from the Konoha files." Shizune pointed out.

"I say we just go around and collect treasure and jutsu. Get strong keep our expenses to a minimum and say to hell with missions." Anko proposed.

"I found treasure here! There are old books on jutsu, and weapons, and cool stuff that looks like..." Naruto stood again and let his rant roll.

Tsunade lifted the boy off his feet and tossed him back into his chair. She made a hand sign and Naruto went limp. "OK now that he's out we can take a vote."

...

Over the next few days the Konoha exiles cleaned and cleared the building. They found the library and Shizune delighted in exploring and cataloging it. There was a training area occupying an entire floor of the great building. This room was in constant rotation. The group had built a dedication to their training that would do Gai proud. Tsunade found a basic medical wing, which she promptly revived and readied for use. Ino dragged her partner to her new quarters and busied herself decorating it to her taste. Hinata kept her room simple, instead dedicating her time to her lessons.

The routines established in their underground headquarters translated well to the new village. The jounin taught the chunin. The kages taught the jounin. The kages taught the chunin. The chunin taught each other. The clones did the chores. The teams trained day and night, and the pig ran around doing piggy things. The resurrected Village Hidden in the Storm was a happy place to live.

...

The Village Hidden in the Leaves was not a happy place to live. There was a lightness that was missing. The streets were quiet, and tense. The academy was turned into a pressure cooker. The students were rushed to learn everything they could. Even though none would graduate early, they were pushed to the highest levels imaginable so that when they did graduate they could run chunin and jounin level missions. The great clans of Konoha were suffering from a bevy of troubles. The entire village was worse for lack of a pair of unpredictable blonds.

Haruno Sakura was not unaffected by the troubles of the village. She fell into the category that could leave the village, so was sent on every available mission. On her off time she did everything she could to help the last Uchiha train and fulfill his duties to the village. She did not have an easy time either in her missions or in her interactions in village security. She still didn't have the ability to speak.

After Hinata's strike Sakura was told she would recover in a few days. When she still could not utter a sound at the end of a week she consulted Hyuuga Neji. Through his annoyance at having to be in her presence Neji informed the pink-haired kunoichi that Hinata was better at the jyuken than she let on. The strike pulsed so hard that it ruptured the chakra node under Sakura's tongue. The damage to the girl's vocal chords was irreparable, unless a Hyuuga decided to become a medic on par with Tsunade. Sakura was devastated at first. She would never again tell Sasuke what she felt for him. She recovered from her disappointment to a degree when she realized Sasuke spent much more time with her now that she was quiet.

The now silent kunoichi took a new tack in her training. Sasuke trained with her daily. He never bothered to actually help her with anything, but he would spar with her, and gave her free reign of his family library of jutsu. In the impressive collection was a treatise dating to the founding of the village. This particular book detailed the Hyuuga style and gave exacting instructions on how to defeat it. The entire volume has made to not only beat, but kill Hyuuga. Sakura could live with her condition, but the voice that screamed in her head needed vengeance, and this book would be the key.

Sasuke was similarly minded in his quest for vengeance. He demanded that Kakashi teach him everything. The broody gennin formed a plot to first defeat Naruto, then take on his own teacher, and finally go after his brother. In the time after he left the hospital Sasuke had made great strides in his skills. His taijutsu was excellent, his repertoire of ninjutsu was growing at rates that were nearly unheard of, and his conditioning and chakra control had improved as well. His only hindrance was an occasional lack of focus. His shoulder would burn and his mind would jet to the curse mark and how he got it. He felt its power, but knew he was missing some vital piece of information needed to properly use it.

Kakashi feared the curse mark as well. He continued to help Sasuke train, continued to read dirty books in public, continued to hide his face at all times, and continued to be late to everything. Kakashi routinely arrived several hours after business had begun in the Hokage tower. Paperwork went unread, and unapproved. Missions were backed up, and expenses were getting out of hand. Outwardly the copy-nin was his usual too-cool-for-school self. Internally Hatake Kakashi was miserable. He had forsaken the wishes of his teacher, and in all respects that mattered abandoned a fellow ninja. During the day he tore himself apart for his sins. At night he took to the roofs, plotting a great service to the village he loved.

Kakashi was late as usual as he entered the Hokage office. He perused the room. Same paperwork, same annoyed assistant, same day as yesterday as far as he could see. He plopped himself on the chair behind the desk and scanned the top layer of reports. Among them one caught his eye. A mission request from Yamanaka Inoichi cosigned by Aburame Shibi. This was highly unusual. The two high ranking and highly respected jounin requested a proof of life mission for their children. Kakashi mulled the idea over for a few minutes and then chose his agent. He would also enact on of the laws of his predecessor and allay all the fears of his valuable jounin.

...

"There is a boat approaching the storm." A Naruto informed Tsunade.

"OK does it pose a threat?" The leader of the village asked.

"No. And we think we should let it through." The clone nodded emphatically.

"Your call. If they are friendly make them welcome. If not I want you and Hinata to practice the tactics we were learning on Thursday." The elder blond issued the order.

"Got it!" The clone popped, delivering the message to the original.

The small craft moored and five people disembarked. The loose group wandered toward the center of the village. They found no people of activity as they grew ever closer to the great tower in the distance. As they finally stood in front or the building they were met by Ino. The girl rushed to embrace the boy at the front of the group. She released him and nearly jumped with the elation of the reunion.

"Choji! What are you doing here? I'm so glad to see you!" The blond nearly screeched.

"Wow. That's not like you. Are you feeling alright?" The portly gennin probed.

"I'm just excited to see someone from home. And you can give me all the dirt that I missed. And you being here means my dad will know I'm OK." Ino bounced with her explanation.

The other four members of the group had very different reactions to their first meeting in Arashi. The two ANBU showed nothing. Their masks and cloaks hid any emotion. The young woman smiled at the cuteness of reunited teammates. Teuchi looked around as if expecting someone. He didn't have to wait long. In a blur he was approached by an orange blur. He blinked and the world changed. He was suddenly standing behind a counter with cooking supplies all around him. On the other side of the counter, sitting on a high stool, was his best customer.

"OK I'll have the usual. I think nine bowls to start will be fine." The fox-faced boy grinned.

Teuchi did not question his surroundings or their sudden shift. He accepted the gift and began cooking. A few moments and an orange flash later Ayame was beside him, and business was back to normal.

...

"I can't believe it's been a week. I'm gonna miss you Choji." Ino hugged her long time companion.

"Yeah it was fun. I think I really like the new Ino." Choji smiled his genuine smile.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Tell that lazy-ass good for nothing cloud watching slacker to come visit next time." Ino demanded.

"OK." Choji reconsidered his new Ino theory. "Can I ask you a question before I go?"

"Sure Choji. You can ask me anything." The girl smiled.

"What's with you and Shino?" The curious boy asked.

"Mind your business." Ino screamed. "Now get your ass back to Konoha and tell my dad I'm ok. Make sure he's not drowning my orchids and you better be polite when you do it!"

"OK." Choji hurried to the boat, his new Ino theory completely destroyed.

...

Ino wound through the halls of the great building the team had dubbed the "eye of the storm". She came to the room she had claimed. It had a great vanity and a closet that would have been the envy of all those Konoha girls she had left behind. It was a room fit for a princess, but the real selling point as far as Ino was concerned was the adjoining room. It was originally intended for a bodyguard. These two rooms were the space reserved for visiting foreign dignitaries. Now they housed Ino and Shino.

Shino wound through the halls to his room. It was perfect for him. It was spacious enough to train in, but not so grand that he felt spoiled. He was very happy with its proximity to Ino's room also. He opened his door and arranged hi9s weapons in their proper places as he was always taught to do. He took a step to the desk. He wheeled to leave the room again. He finally decided that fortune favors the bold, and took determined strides toward Ino's door.

Aburame Shino removed his glasses and placed them in the pocket of his heavy coat. He undid his headband and folded it into another pocket. He took the heavy coat from his shoulders and smoothed it onto a hook. He unsnapped buttons and unbuckled buckles until he was unarmed. He loosened his chunin vest and ran his fingers through his hair. The whole process took but a few moments and then he was standing in front of the door again. He turned the knob and pushed to door open.

"Hey Shino-kun." Ino said without turning around to face him. "You should have heard nosy Choji before he left."

"Oh?" Shino kept the conversation going as he approached the girl. She was sitting at the vanity with her back to him. She was searching through the drawers for something.

"Yeah he was poking around about us." Ino sat up from her searching to catch a glimpse of Shino in the mirror. She was caught off guard by his state of relative undress. She stood to face him. Shino closed the distance until they were less than an arms length away.

"What did he want to know about us?" Shino asked. There was something in the way Shino said us that shot a tingle up the girl's spine.

"If there was an us type us." She couldn't break her stare into his eyes. "Is there an us type us, Shino?"

"My whole life I have been a shinobi. I have kept secrets and stood guard. I fought life and death battles, but I never really had anything to fight for until you." Shino looked deep into Ino's eyes. He was more serious than he had ever been, but to Ino it was anything but his usual tone. "You were in trouble and I felt like my world would end. So yes, I want there to be an us. I want to come to these two rooms and let down my hood. Just for me and you, Ino-chan."

"Then this will be our place. This will be our secret. No more shutting out everything from everyone. We will have each other." She reached up and wrapped arms around his neck. They kissed. A long kiss that was in truth the first for each of them. Through the years they would share countless more kisses like this one, but this was the first and one that would bring a flush to Shino's face for the rest of his life.

...

It was late at night as Jiraya rounded a corner into the expansive kitchen of "the eye". He was in the mood for a late night drink. He found his intended stool occupied. The blond sannin had made herself comfortable at the island and was filling cup after cup of sake.

"Can I join you?" Jiraya dropped the playful attitude and the perverse front.

"Sure." Tsunade was feeling a little more open to patience this evening.

"To the boy." Jiraya raised a glass.

Tsunade snorted a laugh. "Yeah, to the boy." She mirrored his gesture.

"What was that?" Jiraya questioned of the short laugh.

"You are sitting alone in the dark with a woman and you toast the boy. Legendary pervert my ass." She leveled a look at him.

"I'm trying to be civil Tsunade. I can't stand you!" Something snapped. "I have done everything in the world for years to make sure our son, and his legacy is safe. I ran around for years after he died gathering information on potential enemies, and paying off gambling debts by the way! Why can't we just be civil without you talking down to me?"

"You did everything to protect him! He is dead! My baby boy is dead, and long before that you just forgot about me!" Tsunade's patience had run out. "His legacy was left to be raised by ANBU. I was falling apart and you were throwing money at debts. You have always missed the target Jiraya! You work your little projects and forget about the people!"

"I never forgot about you!" Jiraya shouted. "You are all I thought about through everything. You were with Dan when I finally got everything together to give you the life you deserved. Then the war and then Minato needed me. I could never forget about you." His voice softened with each sentence.

"So why all the girls? All the antics in every country I can think of? You perved your way across the continent." Tsunade softened to a serious tone as well. "Why?"

"Because I couldn't have you." Jiraya smiled a small but genuine smile at the woman.

Tsunade stood from her stool and walked around the island to embrace Jiraya. "They were all place holders?" She asked getting a nod in return. "And you will never forget me?" Another nod. "And we can forget the hurts and work it out?" A smile and a nod met her question. "Jiraya I just wanted you to give me the effort you put into other things. You were always my first choice, and it seems I was yours." Another nod. "One more time?"

"Believe it." Jiraya whispered into her ear.

...

A group of concerned chunin gathered outside of their leader's room. They knocked for the fourth time.

"I hope she's ok." Hinata mused quietly.

"It sounds like an earthquake in there." Naruto added.

The door swung open. Jiraya was standing with tattered sheets wrapped around his waist. "This better be good." No hint of joking in his voice.

"Obaa-chan is late for our lessons." Naruto explained a look of confusion on his face.

Tsunade appeared at the door in a bathrobe. She pushed Jiraya back into the room.

"Listen carefully. Unless the building is on fire do not knock on this door. Do not come in. Do not disturb us. Got it?" Tsunade ordered in a harsh tone.

Her students nodded and hurried down the hall.

"What was that about?" Naruto whined. He still didn't like being dismissed.

"I think they might have been..." Hinata started but turned quite red and let her sentence fall off.

"They might have been what?" Naruto played the encounter back in his head. "Wait! You mean Obaa-chan, and Ojii-san were...you mean I just interrupted my grandparents..."

Hinata nodded a little. Naruto began shivering and then burst into a running jumping fit. He brushed at his eyes as if spiders were crawling out of them. Finally he grabbed Hinata and used the Hiraishin to get them as far from that room as he could think of.

...

**I'm reposting this with corrections and apologize for the poor condition of the first draft. This fic is not abandoned and i hope to have new chapters up soon. I'm also considering taking this story line and branching other stories off of it, an InoShino fic, an Ankocentric fic...please let me know if anyone would be interested. thanks for the patience and thanks for reading.**


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